tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-260634432024-03-18T23:33:05.378-05:00DotopotamusDotopotamus: A special breed of dog -- considered by many to be crazy -- primarily dedicated to adventures, defending the castle and big boy.
Here's to celebrating the bright side...Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.comBlogger280125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-88697939756016550772013-02-11T16:04:00.000-06:002013-02-11T23:24:38.734-06:00Today* * chirp * * * * chirp * * * * chirp * *<br />
<br />
That sound of crickets means only one thing...<br />
<br />
It has been very quiet on the Dotopotamus for awhile.<br />
<br />
A time of change and challenges, saying goodbye and saying hello.<br />
<br />
But today? <br />
<br />
Today is about new beginnings. <br />
<br />
And new stories.<br />
<br />
But first?<br />
<br />
A hello from Dot and Randy.<br />
<br />
Dot's first visit to the ocean about one month ago.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22TpljSYjMePeL6FpndPHUsxfrZe-yW1WngHxlD_1tis2bcE7hfUcnNKHNwytp43xcMB-k4QWBjUh82On7kP-FsA2YCaPasrIJmU7aj9Aa5WRxooRaz5BM-r9ugmzpn33ZM8QBw/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22TpljSYjMePeL6FpndPHUsxfrZe-yW1WngHxlD_1tis2bcE7hfUcnNKHNwytp43xcMB-k4QWBjUh82On7kP-FsA2YCaPasrIJmU7aj9Aa5WRxooRaz5BM-r9ugmzpn33ZM8QBw/s640/IMG_0331.JPG" width="425" /></a></div>
<br />
Trying again.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiBefvv6Eijifv2mEBTHfiy15ZoGRfJnJJohklACHEzaSRglcsESDPNbdyLk2B0ra9OReGE3DiKhZ2y6kXt8AqdJ1n4JS8tNgbLg_aryLL4tEGp2TUzw1SgqKdN03WOar80BoWg/s1600/IMG_0333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiBefvv6Eijifv2mEBTHfiy15ZoGRfJnJJohklACHEzaSRglcsESDPNbdyLk2B0ra9OReGE3DiKhZ2y6kXt8AqdJ1n4JS8tNgbLg_aryLL4tEGp2TUzw1SgqKdN03WOar80BoWg/s640/IMG_0333.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Life is no straight and easy corridor along</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
which we travel free and unhampered,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but a maze of passages,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
through which we must seek our way,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
lost and confused, now and again</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
checked in a blind alley.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But always, if we have faith,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a door will open for us,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
not perhaps one that we ourselves</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
would ever have thought of,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but one that will ultimately</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
prove good for us."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A.J. Cronin</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFGpysBXUCu31WM_41AcVFpTxeAQeDnjD_KHOFTvq1_r9bSIiy1pUXgY9Wkf8gBNMR9C7G9WW-FH5WhUPrmJgJaPGlNeXg62g96-iI4Cu0rvToOhzcc-cZ6BuCUrxS_k1wnN6uw/s1600/IMG_0325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFGpysBXUCu31WM_41AcVFpTxeAQeDnjD_KHOFTvq1_r9bSIiy1pUXgY9Wkf8gBNMR9C7G9WW-FH5WhUPrmJgJaPGlNeXg62g96-iI4Cu0rvToOhzcc-cZ6BuCUrxS_k1wnN6uw/s400/IMG_0325.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
To new beginnings!<br />
<br />Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-24929627180542332732011-01-18T21:46:00.001-06:002011-01-18T21:52:09.960-06:00Burn Baby BurnWhat do you do when you have huge felled trees?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3EkNY9ncTJ_9kZNCkymuu3rFicySZCKKpgKHnPiOftUtuLRANcihLT6COTVlYCNFJGmgLjYytD6fncrWPpYS_fv_lCrbYG5bZcxslY6RKUVWrNGO2UG3VYBBh8k62BRvNPBSDg/s1600/100_2496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3EkNY9ncTJ_9kZNCkymuu3rFicySZCKKpgKHnPiOftUtuLRANcihLT6COTVlYCNFJGmgLjYytD6fncrWPpYS_fv_lCrbYG5bZcxslY6RKUVWrNGO2UG3VYBBh8k62BRvNPBSDg/s400/100_2496.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
You cut them up into huge logs!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQr5CVL_JAi_WfdiD0jJJl31ZHjGRDQ5-D2cRkvn5LkCN7mUTGa5GvwqT0dAzClVLIinPdnG1BxKs0e5AprPgHq-69WwXM6RK0xvCaq8jjTOTIceLL4K7uuWnL_3STL-i9thBFA/s1600/100_2497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQr5CVL_JAi_WfdiD0jJJl31ZHjGRDQ5-D2cRkvn5LkCN7mUTGa5GvwqT0dAzClVLIinPdnG1BxKs0e5AprPgHq-69WwXM6RK0xvCaq8jjTOTIceLL4K7uuWnL_3STL-i9thBFA/s400/100_2497.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
And why would you do that?<br />
<br />
Because you are tired of being cold and you want some heat!<br />
<br />
So you do this.<br />
<br />
You start with an empty space in your den and you ask Dot if she could move it for a minute. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqsrPTNmtNRoJ5ux6fpbTwpFAEVTqcwCR0oZXuWQjeq_rhtfSU8p5eueCUxW7QKt2oknXoBSoJ946zBnw1v4T6MClav9YSLTIpyOlsy2B655cOTW_vYyJqMX2GjI29y2kKr3Iew/s1600/100_2476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqsrPTNmtNRoJ5ux6fpbTwpFAEVTqcwCR0oZXuWQjeq_rhtfSU8p5eueCUxW7QKt2oknXoBSoJ946zBnw1v4T6MClav9YSLTIpyOlsy2B655cOTW_vYyJqMX2GjI29y2kKr3Iew/s400/100_2476.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Then you get started.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBaQ2HW_y_FhlAtcxWtuhwQMsiG_jOall_aon1hexn0gLIO80bCS-H7hUTBguuJw8gvY0m9whzb0Vk2cmenzp2XW21IevI2hJRnhLZYJOP3H2IaXUSrAcOjvoA1X8D9RBf-CBTg/s1600/100_2477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBaQ2HW_y_FhlAtcxWtuhwQMsiG_jOall_aon1hexn0gLIO80bCS-H7hUTBguuJw8gvY0m9whzb0Vk2cmenzp2XW21IevI2hJRnhLZYJOP3H2IaXUSrAcOjvoA1X8D9RBf-CBTg/s400/100_2477.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAp6INGiSkoWum2Ivi8nmrkIur0sM1hKFj0fSQ5P_hoo8dSkHnmy_nespx0Mvk73uCGRpaIeRfP3AoUc9py1ncC7okX5Tlsgyc6Ll9Uw5qspbgra-Y8Y3j7q6aT2wZM1dz3vitA/s1600/100_2480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAp6INGiSkoWum2Ivi8nmrkIur0sM1hKFj0fSQ5P_hoo8dSkHnmy_nespx0Mvk73uCGRpaIeRfP3AoUc9py1ncC7okX5Tlsgyc6Ll9Uw5qspbgra-Y8Y3j7q6aT2wZM1dz3vitA/s400/100_2480.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXEku77w7HVI4WKHJ_U5329zPXR67JiosNtkh3sq8DJte6ev8neMb-X1Vd2scdv0Jmqqc6PPSQZqriOxRvhFWifgOBVdxYqkeTSTJBvFRCaIfZgZMvaiTIWd1mmYRi2vqPE236w/s1600/100_2481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXEku77w7HVI4WKHJ_U5329zPXR67JiosNtkh3sq8DJte6ev8neMb-X1Vd2scdv0Jmqqc6PPSQZqriOxRvhFWifgOBVdxYqkeTSTJBvFRCaIfZgZMvaiTIWd1mmYRi2vqPE236w/s400/100_2481.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSzRoP8CGzb1bRg7K0SJ1SLQ7IGT8CF9I-4D65EkLE-plAYvN2YIFuJA1imxCjgAQPUVuLqIiiGzpjWlvbLGz_HUWXBsCRVZIxhsaLlKFPG-QATfe2WAqmwPzBTwpfb9t5icGhw/s1600/100_2488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSzRoP8CGzb1bRg7K0SJ1SLQ7IGT8CF9I-4D65EkLE-plAYvN2YIFuJA1imxCjgAQPUVuLqIiiGzpjWlvbLGz_HUWXBsCRVZIxhsaLlKFPG-QATfe2WAqmwPzBTwpfb9t5icGhw/s400/100_2488.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
You get some instructions.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2xAo01JArdP60PTzPDyBGSNpcCTNwW1un0B8DS8R9N52CLsW7Gi7paLlqraRrVEY1IS6sDknwjz7OXUSW0xUxPyRdXKm9TRncA4WI50mMDsagjEMzUvNdWH9obvdTY1IeNwOjA/s1600/100_2483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2xAo01JArdP60PTzPDyBGSNpcCTNwW1un0B8DS8R9N52CLsW7Gi7paLlqraRrVEY1IS6sDknwjz7OXUSW0xUxPyRdXKm9TRncA4WI50mMDsagjEMzUvNdWH9obvdTY1IeNwOjA/s400/100_2483.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoF5sdUDjZ7Hv_c_Q0n9gm2aGrlbnEOJqllQL-wCPQ30p0gAYXl7KKm2XGFzJMLX8KOsyLOGWbXpIMGtYXyGw3zOB6XTlRt8ln8vPx10EzRZFP9sRMrhmbB72S1h8TGU64B7QFQ/s1600/100_2482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoF5sdUDjZ7Hv_c_Q0n9gm2aGrlbnEOJqllQL-wCPQ30p0gAYXl7KKm2XGFzJMLX8KOsyLOGWbXpIMGtYXyGw3zOB6XTlRt8ln8vPx10EzRZFP9sRMrhmbB72S1h8TGU64B7QFQ/s400/100_2482.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
And with a single click of your barbecue lighter that looks like a shotgun, you get FIRE!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9fQ6VbHHq5JY5f_SOJa5kKgeSOc95byD1JtX2vIyTNDKD_XDskj_U_lpKTiHrjxSAzygrWAIvENTLohRRLviZu54sxBicZyGrsAFjR4Tr8HCHQI4Fs7zWztBWnBZCjMzAnAReg/s1600/100_2484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9fQ6VbHHq5JY5f_SOJa5kKgeSOc95byD1JtX2vIyTNDKD_XDskj_U_lpKTiHrjxSAzygrWAIvENTLohRRLviZu54sxBicZyGrsAFjR4Tr8HCHQI4Fs7zWztBWnBZCjMzAnAReg/s400/100_2484.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcx-6-f_0vdhQ4unURWbZns6yq0ZIZ5Io98T5IoFjlb6J00zchnbSYlx_UBj6HP439PeoKFsOei9ZysfWRc6DadNltsDzWoY6O6ENTDYGRducIu46vvPVo9l1REYiyJCrFLHwKg/s1600/100_2485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMcx-6-f_0vdhQ4unURWbZns6yq0ZIZ5Io98T5IoFjlb6J00zchnbSYlx_UBj6HP439PeoKFsOei9ZysfWRc6DadNltsDzWoY6O6ENTDYGRducIu46vvPVo9l1REYiyJCrFLHwKg/s400/100_2485.JPG" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And at long last, you are warm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fPVcU39XUA3Tj9Evf9-RLZRmB1McYt1ZHRjfmtbzLUxPpZuEHBO9njE5QSmZGc4WfW1k9wRp7KYNtSikgi5gV3xvx7DgvghF8SKyqxjOU4N5y2AsdQOgO_hZfxZqGEU6wJh6qA/s1600/100_2498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fPVcU39XUA3Tj9Evf9-RLZRmB1McYt1ZHRjfmtbzLUxPpZuEHBO9njE5QSmZGc4WfW1k9wRp7KYNtSikgi5gV3xvx7DgvghF8SKyqxjOU4N5y2AsdQOgO_hZfxZqGEU6wJh6qA/s400/100_2498.JPG" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The end. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of outrageous electric bills, that is. Yee haw!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxp7tvp8A6NpPXPiTSh-zOldn-o9vnYIrcKQ26DL_an8P3X75oNsSPFNKjV5CaSvkj5Fa7Zmcl-CCDR9jZeDpkE6nHNBhmfL7o0do60R5f8GQVzxJhydKCg3F2zr_GWgUrwSklg/s1600/100_2500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxp7tvp8A6NpPXPiTSh-zOldn-o9vnYIrcKQ26DL_an8P3X75oNsSPFNKjV5CaSvkj5Fa7Zmcl-CCDR9jZeDpkE6nHNBhmfL7o0do60R5f8GQVzxJhydKCg3F2zr_GWgUrwSklg/s400/100_2500.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-50318065866231556942011-01-17T21:55:00.000-06:002011-01-17T21:55:54.776-06:00The Greatest American ExportRandy brings back interesting things when he flies overseas missions. Some of the simplest things fascinate me the most.<br />
<br />
Similar... <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaywVXq6m3Pi4kk-3mAxr7b1SuEqRUQrIuVUqBIdM7h8tklQgCtXiL4M3HyRdLxEAMC1Eiy4x-9fFC6fmsjOTKjE_69nn24azcftLe1VR6uieOIbNF2qdx-fyCaml9VONv21jTJQ/s1600/100_1981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaywVXq6m3Pi4kk-3mAxr7b1SuEqRUQrIuVUqBIdM7h8tklQgCtXiL4M3HyRdLxEAMC1Eiy4x-9fFC6fmsjOTKjE_69nn24azcftLe1VR6uieOIbNF2qdx-fyCaml9VONv21jTJQ/s400/100_1981.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Yet different...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOv3Q7uNGh4CB0VyOGOCF0tYK1SskHnYq7yyva19qY4ho36o2hyxQpm7vSr2ZFp1_J8EoHKtHuQ7krTWYsSOWRqjYbpwJPI1npcCJOuRYMh8NL-13J-Mixdbssj94RMlCxxInBw/s1600/100_1982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOv3Q7uNGh4CB0VyOGOCF0tYK1SskHnYq7yyva19qY4ho36o2hyxQpm7vSr2ZFp1_J8EoHKtHuQ7krTWYsSOWRqjYbpwJPI1npcCJOuRYMh8NL-13J-Mixdbssj94RMlCxxInBw/s400/100_1982.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5P2LFZnTkdTugF-0UxW7xy535CYGKLFUUHHkS3Varkdlx2Zx40HKXnF_5zQ9Ig2DMaVIzR3icrrbTRoigywB8gLeQqutH931wphMzJOquAv8PFWUnwUWtB61jbvTIqPSQ9OcF6Q/s1600/100_1983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5P2LFZnTkdTugF-0UxW7xy535CYGKLFUUHHkS3Varkdlx2Zx40HKXnF_5zQ9Ig2DMaVIzR3icrrbTRoigywB8gLeQqutH931wphMzJOquAv8PFWUnwUWtB61jbvTIqPSQ9OcF6Q/s400/100_1983.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Hey wait a minute...<br />
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I haven't seen these things in a few decades! Didn't these kill fish, or cause mountains of litter in landfills, or something like that?<br />
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When I saw this, I admit heaving a sigh of relief knowing that one can order the elixir of the gods in all parts of the world!Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-979139752782214002011-01-13T23:47:00.000-06:002011-01-13T23:47:08.921-06:00The Art of ForagingIf you saw this growing in the darkness on moss laden ground under a huge fir tree in the deep woods would you think, "Hey...now there's some good eats!"?<br />
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Not me. I would think about that awful scene from the book/movie Into the Wild where the guy eats the wrong root and goes crazy and dies a slow, painful death! (Spoiler, much? Even though I just told you how it ends you should read that book. I'm haunted by that book. And the movie, too. Really. It's a true story. I find the guy fascinating.)<br />
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Then again, I wasn't raised in the woods and haven't spent the better part of my free time from birth until now learning all there is to know about the forest and its many inhabitants, like Randy has done.<br />
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He loves it and every year during the right season he can't wait to go hunting for Chantrelle mushrooms that grow in this part of the world. They are a creepy looking things but are considered a delicacy and they aren't that easy to find in the wild anymore. Randy said that when he was growing up he would pick buckets and buckets full and sell them for spending money, but he has a harder and harder time finding them now because of over harvesting.<br />
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Here is this year's yield. <br />
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The mighty hunter.<br />
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Yum!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnd8JjM-BWO6AroMMnYnj8PGZkd3XhV-iXH20kPc8Pk1cjQxIfC8-lqEf2Za5cHb2gZVNvX805wKqQjYcuUsxzj0ESHZZgSbYKCwk_suxsghK3QMBQ1IUak52Gi_pQg1RrzCH_lg/s1600/steak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnd8JjM-BWO6AroMMnYnj8PGZkd3XhV-iXH20kPc8Pk1cjQxIfC8-lqEf2Za5cHb2gZVNvX805wKqQjYcuUsxzj0ESHZZgSbYKCwk_suxsghK3QMBQ1IUak52Gi_pQg1RrzCH_lg/s400/steak.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-68643671336048923622011-01-11T23:59:00.000-06:002011-01-11T23:59:24.643-06:00The Shadow KnowsDo you ever get that eerie feeling that you are being followed? Jack told me that he does.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllGKYLC0UHh-d_Lvxrr_hJ0gwY1vY9J4eMw-SpTpFSCDPCKwvNzRMFD-NVrj6CvJ5zU67Sk71Uujiha_ZyqY7qQNAoJ0LFM1cHq4vICOLYKTeYCxL1yt4qz1dnrnitkb2AfIWGg/s1600/100_1753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllGKYLC0UHh-d_Lvxrr_hJ0gwY1vY9J4eMw-SpTpFSCDPCKwvNzRMFD-NVrj6CvJ5zU67Sk71Uujiha_ZyqY7qQNAoJ0LFM1cHq4vICOLYKTeYCxL1yt4qz1dnrnitkb2AfIWGg/s400/100_1753.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But stalker Dot needs to be careful because she doesn't yet fully understand the universal law that what goes around comes around and her actions may come back to haunt her.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oh dear....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxPJHh3vEjEhmp_KHpJ78r84yClrc3amJMbnr2dBQOL695BvB48pe0DVTMc9PJMrEWHEFUrKfpoVCdXySmsmFjsO6zAo_SUBQZuKHyGN0EY03uY-S43anIe5u75uosHbnyYuLw/s1600/100_1853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkCxPJHh3vEjEhmp_KHpJ78r84yClrc3amJMbnr2dBQOL695BvB48pe0DVTMc9PJMrEWHEFUrKfpoVCdXySmsmFjsO6zAo_SUBQZuKHyGN0EY03uY-S43anIe5u75uosHbnyYuLw/s400/100_1853.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-85207300533465088582011-01-11T00:55:00.001-06:002011-01-11T01:03:29.156-06:00The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of DefeatWell, we were certainly hoping for a different outcome in tonight's National Championship game. We rooted hard for the Ducks but they just couldn't get 'er done.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxHv1kfltXCqJUiDTs3AnhW4RgOCk1ec54nowk2ZBh5oPAsP62xMCVVIs3joIUHgYWz8SNlScF3u_9JzARUGb1kzGhj7j46uota8sziMMZXO2XDUGtRuXvRna_b28FaCHY_87_w/s1600/107198219_display_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxHv1kfltXCqJUiDTs3AnhW4RgOCk1ec54nowk2ZBh5oPAsP62xMCVVIs3joIUHgYWz8SNlScF3u_9JzARUGb1kzGhj7j46uota8sziMMZXO2XDUGtRuXvRna_b28FaCHY_87_w/s400/107198219_display_image.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But how about this interesting little development?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In celebration of the Seahawks amazing victory, Randy now has the best reason to show his TRUE BLUE Seahawk pride this Sunday with this little gift I got for him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We have touchdown fever!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-76728443892833884852011-01-06T23:20:00.001-06:002011-01-06T23:31:21.403-06:00Get Along Little DoggiesI visited beautiful Meeker, Colorado recently.<br />
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Where I got to visit this little turkey and pilgrim.<br />
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And let me just say that if you are headed off to kindergarten and the second grade in beautiful Meeker, Colorado and you have to be at school at 7:30 a.m. you had better give yourself plenty of time because you never know what kind of delay you might encounter. And don't kid yourself into thinking that you have the right-away because in this neck of the woods? You don't!<br />
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And let me spare you a hard lesson learned by letting you know that you should never, ever pump your fists in triumph as you make your way through the cow herd and begin to leave those bovines in your dust. Don't do it. Because if you do? The next day the ranching gods will punish you with even longer delays.<br />
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With sheep.<br />
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Can you spot the black sheep of the family? That guys is trouble.<br />
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Thanks goodness for sheep dogs! They help clear the way.<br />
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By the way, did you know that you can visit beautiful Meeker, Colorado in September and attend the annual <a href="http://www.meekersheepdog.com/">Sheepdog Championship Trials</a>? How cool is that?<br />
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But back to the road to school. It's quite a trek! My sister in law says that driving that road is like playing real life Frogger....you're always swerving to avoid some creature, or another.<br />
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However, if you can make it through the day without getting side swiped by some big animal you can pick up your little turkey and pilgrim from school and head over to the cute little local historical museum where they are dieing for you to see one thing, and one thing only...<br />
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THE TWO-HEADED CALF!<br />
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Because it is almost as <strike>freaky</strike> cool as the Three-Headed Holliday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ4Fg8lfJ2uP2B_GzkJDeJvuJn7Bbj0TxC2n49VRQ4niIp_S50Q849Zk45mxOhUAml3R87-C4APLEd0Q9-f7fRwlp6qCLxcU7CHlSVc2puYj0ev4mphW5PNv2Q6c8JTsFS1wGVg/s1600/100_2158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ4Fg8lfJ2uP2B_GzkJDeJvuJn7Bbj0TxC2n49VRQ4niIp_S50Q849Zk45mxOhUAml3R87-C4APLEd0Q9-f7fRwlp6qCLxcU7CHlSVc2puYj0ev4mphW5PNv2Q6c8JTsFS1wGVg/s400/100_2158.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-63050172688831893912011-01-05T12:22:00.001-06:002011-01-05T12:40:06.728-06:00BrrrrrHappy New Year! We made it to 2011! I must say that I am pretty excited about letting go of the chaos of 2010 in hopes that 2011 will come together in a more serene way. Fingers crossed!<br />
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Has it been really cold where you are? It has been uncharacteristically cold here in the Pacific NW since Christmas. Much more snow and ice and below-freezing temperatures than normal. I'm always just a little bit cold these days no matter how many layers of clothing I'm wearing. Still adjusting, I guess. But when the sun shines it is really beautiful.<br />
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So I hope your New Year is happy and things go your way. I'm looking forward to getting things off to a good start.<br />
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And do you know what would go a long way in making that happen? If the Seahawks could find a way to beat the Saints in this weekend's playoff game! I love, love, love me some New Orleans Saints but what a story it would be - and what fun it would be for these crazy Seattle fans up here - if the Hawks could pull it off! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24LUulo-4W87VZOYjjGW-AunQqz3mIM8alLHVZjyUKxXJrWIpMErHyMU1BpCMWJmuoeu80n7tzkPm-IB8VW2P2UWLFU-itwWsKaFFQrNuig5TkmL__68jQ7_hpBoy5wbkXI9k8w/s1600/100_2426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24LUulo-4W87VZOYjjGW-AunQqz3mIM8alLHVZjyUKxXJrWIpMErHyMU1BpCMWJmuoeu80n7tzkPm-IB8VW2P2UWLFU-itwWsKaFFQrNuig5TkmL__68jQ7_hpBoy5wbkXI9k8w/s400/100_2426.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-35942665691754276872010-12-24T18:00:00.002-06:002010-12-24T18:07:04.740-06:00An OLDIE But a GoodieI can't let the season pass without sharing my favorite picture of all time, once again. I still laugh every year when I see it. <br />
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Poor Matt. He was a little bit stressed out, to be sure. And I think Santa wanted to kill him. But I had my candy cane and all was good.<br />
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Merry Christmas and love to you all.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCGEd-HVXU3e9xiwtrj8CNqK6hNiTK_7D7Y5U4G68P8cY1-2ZuKTYVDAL75woBGpP9BLAP_J7nVlcGRaLvJCKAvDWiZt5AKkR12xTIwt1d7nY-pWeixeUKf_HYe-_H5kq4ts_BQ/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCGEd-HVXU3e9xiwtrj8CNqK6hNiTK_7D7Y5U4G68P8cY1-2ZuKTYVDAL75woBGpP9BLAP_J7nVlcGRaLvJCKAvDWiZt5AKkR12xTIwt1d7nY-pWeixeUKf_HYe-_H5kq4ts_BQ/s640/IMG_0529.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-10046268050210668722010-12-22T23:54:00.001-06:002010-12-23T00:02:02.073-06:00Roasting on an Open FireHave you ever eaten roasted chestnuts? I never had, but it was cold and I was hungry the other day when I came upon this stand selling roasted chestnuts and roasted ears of corn. Sounded good to me. <br />
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When it was my turn to order the older gentleman with a very thick Slavic accent who was working the stand said in his loudest broken English Seinfeld Soup Nazi voice, "YOU LOOK LIKE A CHESTNUT PERSON!".<br />
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*blink* *blink* <br />
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Uh....okay....<br />
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I'm not exactly sure what that meant, but who was I to argue? So I said, "You're right!" and ordered my bag of holiday cheer.<br />
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Then the chestnuts promptly burned my fingers off.<br />
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The one I'm holding here was so hot I could barely hold on to it. They are slit before roasting so the steam can escape.<br />
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You peel the shell off and pop out the chestnut. It is really hot and very soft. The texture of the meat is what you might expect if you boiled a walnut. I had always imaged a roasted chestnut would be crispy, but it's just the opposite. Very, very soft and very sweet. No salt at all. A very unique flavor and quite tasty.<br />
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This lead me to wonder what other legendary Christmas treats I might be missing out on. I wonder if I look like a figgy pudding person?<br />
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I suspect yes.Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-60582733506847125242010-12-21T13:08:00.001-06:002010-12-21T13:19:08.235-06:00Making MerryRandy works hard and has to be away from home a lot. Many negatives about that, for sure. But the positive is that when he is home, we try and have fun. Actually, we try and catch up on the ever-growing to-do list around the house, but <i>then</i> we try and have some fun.<br />
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When he returned from a mission a couple of weeks ago he was looking really good from working hard loading those planes, and he was ready for some Christmas cheer!<br />
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So, we headed out to the Eatonville Christmas Parade.<br />
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Thankfully, it was a clear night and not raining...but super cold...in the upper 20s! I had on five layers of clothing and for the first time since I was a child in Montana I had on long johns. Nothing makes a girl feel prettier than rockin' some thermal underwear!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Small town parades are awesome. Lots of people on main street cheering everyone on. Every school, church group, business and organization decorates their car, truck, trailer, flatbed, tractor, ATV, bike, motorcycle, dune buggy or whatever else they have and gets in on the action. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the parade we ate dinner at the Big Timber Pub and while walking to the car, passed the Pour House Pub, where we noticed there was a little karaoke going on. We may, or may not, have joined the fun...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>We had to pack a lot of fun into that weekend because Randy was leaving again for a few weeks, so the next morning we hopped the train and headed...<br />
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To a Seahawks game! They played the Carolina Panthers, and thanks to some kind of do-it-or-die half-time threat talk somehow turned it around and won! I do love going to football games. This one was cold...but fun! <br />
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</div>It was "Canada Appreciation Day". Lots of kanucks up here, you know, eh? When we went in the club house the Canadian Royal Mountie guys were there and they were being treated like rock starts with everyone wanting to get their pictures with them. It's the awesome red uniforms and memories of Dudley Doright always saving the day. Believe me, had the line to the ladies' not been a mile long, yours truly would have been right there saying cheese with one of those guys.<br />
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A happy Christmas elf...Go Hawks! Every single piece of clothing on Randy's body was emblazoned with a Seahawks something or other. <br />
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I hope you are finding ways to make this holiday season merry, too. Seasons greetings to you all!<br />
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Next up? Dot's most dreaded event of the year...the holiday photo shoot!Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-54355770653299600592010-12-20T03:21:00.000-06:002010-12-20T03:21:38.488-06:00Oh Christmas TreeMany, many Christmases ago I caved. <br />
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I chucked childhood tradition and gave into the ease and convenience of an artificial Christmas tree. It was so easy! So simple! So perfect and lovely! I never looked back.<br />
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But Randy has always stayed true to being a real Christmas tree person. <br />
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So in the spirit of compromise (that has become the bane of my existence these past three months as we have merged our two households into one and almost every single decision on what stays and what goes requires the SERIOUS negotiation skills!) I agreed to a live Christmas tree.<br />
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AND I WILL NEVER GO FAKE AGAIN! <br />
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I LOVE our live Christmas tree. I forgot how wonderful it is to walk by and smell that fresh pine smell, and seeing the quirky imperfections make it more fun in my eyes. <br />
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But I do have to say that it is so much easier up here in the Pacific NW to get a live tree because they are EVERYWHERE. Washington isn't called the Evergreen State for nothing! The live Christmas trees are so fresh and green because they were basically just cut down the day before you bought yours so they stay healthy and beautiful through the entire season.<br />
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But what I noticed immediately after Thanksgiving was that Christmas trees in my part of the world are big business! There are Christmas trees for sale literally everywhere you turn. I still can't believe it. So many more people here buy live trees that I guess supply is simply keeping up with demand. <br />
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So...yesterday morning when I opened my eyes I flinched and my retinas almost burned out of my head when I looked out my window. That strange, intense glare...what was it? IT WAS THE SUN! It has, literally, been storming and flooding here for weeks and I haven't seen the sun in many, many, many days. I kind of freaked out a little bit. Like I jumped out of bed and kept shouting oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Randy is off flying so I only had Dot here to get happy with and she was mighty excited, too.<br />
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I knew I had to get outside and grab the sun while I could so I thought I'd try and take some pictures and explain this Christmas tree phenomenon. Disclaimer...horrible pictures lay ahead that don't really do my story justice, but honestly friends I was in such a panic not to lose the sun that I was barely focusing the camera before racing to the next place on my beautiful, glorious, SUNNY Saturday morning drive. It is THAT CRAZY here when the sun shines. Sure enough, it was storming by noon, but it was wonderful while it lasted.<br />
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But I digress. Back to the point of this story.<br />
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I've learned that lots of people up here plant Christmas trees as a retirement business. They will plant their main crop when they are in their 40s and by the time they are in their 60s they start selling trees. Case in point are our neighbors who live about three miles down the road from us. They basically planted Christmas trees in their front yard and now sell them on the weekends during the holidays.<br />
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But drive another three miles down this same road and you will see one of many huge, commercial tree farms in this area. This picture taken across the road is not pretty by any means, but I'm trying to give you the scope of this farm. We're talking hundreds and hundreds of trees of every variety.<br />
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Christmas tree businesses are so close together that you see signs like this everywhere. Should I turn left or right? Competition is fierce!<br />
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I'm serious when I say that you see Christmas tree farms everywhere around here. Here is a brand new farm just getting started down the road from our house about eight miles. It will take about 10-12 years for these trees to reach six feet tall. <br />
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The elementary school outside of Eatonville is raising trees. Their crop is a little further along.<br />
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Then there are the pre-cut Christmas tree stands that are even more plentiful then the cut-your-own tree farms. Many people just set up the business in their front yards.<br />
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Lots of kids and teenagers were working the tree shops in their front yards. Kind of like yuletide lemonade stands. Some worked really hard on their marketing materials.<br />
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Others, not so much.<br />
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I saw a number of set ups like this one and they were actually my favorites, but I could only get this one lame picture because of the multi-car pile up I was causing behind me while trying to take the shot quickly. Basically, families bring in their trailers and campers and tents and set up a big camp around the trees. They had bonfires going, grills and smokers smelling delicious, lots of great music, some serious eggnog action...basically big old Christmas parties going on while they were selling trees. It looked fun.<br />
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Then there are the many, many, many do-good organizations selling trees as fundraisers for their causes. I was thrilled to see that the Eatonville Lions Club only had three more trees to go before a total sell out!<br />
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</div>The Lions would also flock your tree for you. I had to snicker. I guess for the kitsch factor, a flocked tree might be kind of fun. In the same vein as me wanting a silver, aluminum tree on our porch someday. Goofy.<br />
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Because Randy had to be gone quite a bit this month, we got our tree pretty early, on December 1, and we bought it at Ft. Lewis Army Base. Thanks to Randy, I have become a real supporter of businesses who support our troops so it was a no brainer that this is where we would get our tree. The bummer? I didn't have my camera with me that day. So yesterday I went by there and took this picture and was happy to see that they were almost sold out. They had tons of trees the day we were there.<br />
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We got our tree home and commenced with decorating!<br />
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</a></div>And there is no better example of the compromise in the blending of our two homes that I mentioned earlier than our Christmas tree. I was used to decorating my tree in a certain way and Randy was used to decorating his in his way so this year we just decided to put up whatever we wanted. Over time, I know that the lines of "mine" and "his" will blend and become "ours" but right now we are still new at this and we each have our individual tastes and things that we prefer.<br />
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So see if you can guess whose ornaments are whose:<br />
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Shiny Vintage Santa<br />
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Captain Jean-Luc Picard<br />
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Cute Cowboy Santa<br />
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Darth Vader<br />
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Supporting the troops with a festive, ribboned-up C17<br />
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Worf<br />
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Pretty gold-covered Aspen leaf<br />
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Princess Leia<br />
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Okay, I kid, but you know what continues to amaze me? Even though our tastes are pretty much polar opposites in so very many areas, it all somehow comes together and works for us.<br />
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Next year we want to get a permit from one of the National Forests in our area and go cut a tree from the wild. But as I was driving home yesterday I thought that might be harder than it sounds given that the scale is so much different in the woods around here.<br />
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How lovely are your branches, indeed.Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-13207868089767447162010-11-17T01:22:00.000-06:002010-11-17T01:22:40.714-06:00Dot and DashRegrets. I have many. It's true.<br />
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One big regret is not having taken more pictures of Dot when she was a puppy. Especially when she was a little, bitty brand new puppy. I didn't take a lot of digital pictures then and the few that I did take were lost when an old hard drive crashed. I literally have no pictures of Dot during her first year. It makes me sad because she was such a cute, cute, cute little Dotopotamus. 100% mutt. To this day I change my mind daily when trying to figure out her dominant breed. Sometimes I think schnauzer, sometimes poodle, sometimes dachshund. I suspect a real Heinz 57 blend of everything.<br />
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It was December 2003. I was finally ready for my own dog and I was looking hard for her at all of the area animal shelters and pounds around Austin. I wasn't sure what kind of dog I wanted, but I knew that would be revealed in due time.<br />
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Christmas that year was rare because all of my family was together at the Last Stop. Matt and Shana were there and Mason was 8 months old. On December 22 we all went together and visited a few different shelters in the small towns around Eastland.<br />
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Needless to say, some of these small town shelters are a bit grim. Old, cramped, depressing. Lots of big dogs - basically your pit bull mix. Sad. This was the case when we arrived at the Brownwood shelter, about 40 miles from Eastland.<br />
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Unrelated side note, I LOVE BROWNWOOD. Home of Underwoods Barbecue. THE quintessential cafeteria that can instantly transport me back to childhood when I was visiting my grandparents in Eastland and we would drive here to eat ribs and peach cobbler.<br />
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So, there I was, alone in the Brownwood shelter trying to convince myself that the sickly, sad looking little white dog with the drippy eyes that I was petting might be my girl when I heard the rest of the family around the corner in a commotion. My brother Matt came jogging back to me and said, "We found her. We found your dog."<br />
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Sure enough. I rounded that corner and there was 3-month old, 7-pound Dot in my sister-in-law Shana's arms. Weirdly, I didn't even really spend time with her at that point. I just knew in my heart by looking at her that she my dog and I had to get her adopted right that minute or someone else might beat me to it. So Dad and I hot footed it up front and completed the paper work and paid the $25 adoption fee. When all of that was complete, I came back around and that's when I really held Dot for the first time. She made little baby Mason giggle and I knew that was a good sign.<br />
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The thing about Dot that was so funny was her high energy personality. You could tell that she was a little bit wild, with one paw over on the crazy side, but she was so adorable. She didn't look sad or abandoned or concerned about a thing. She just wagged her tale and had that "come on, let's play!" look about her. I took her home that night and the rest, as they say, is history. <br />
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That was seven years ago this December.<br />
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So where is the regret? <br />
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Well, Dot had a brother there in the pound with her. Another 3 month old little dude that looked almost exactly like Dot except he had longer legs, so he was a little bit taller. But super cute and just as playful. However, at that time I knew I wanted a female and it just wasn't in my realm of possibility to get two dogs. Today? Heck yes, I'm a seasoned dog owner who loves the little buggers like crazy and I would have snapped them both up right away. But I couldn't do it then.<br />
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So we left "Dash" (that's what I would have named him...Dash) behind and I just crossed my fingers that some other person or family would come along and adopt him. I honestly have wondered over the last seven years what might have become of that little guy.<br />
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WELL TODAY I FOUND OUT! <br />
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Check out this coupon advertisement I received in the mail today from Pottery Barn! <br />
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Can you believe how much this dude looks like Dot? The only difference is he has a longer beard. I keep Dot's face trimmed shorter so she'll look a little bit more like a girl, but this big daddy has a beard and I THINK IT'S DASH!<br />
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Well Dash has done alright for himself, hasn't he? Since he left Brownwood with that fancy couple from California, Dash has obviously moved up in the world and now works in the big leagues for Pottery Barn! He poses sweetly on fleece blankets on distressed leather chairs by the fire! I bet he gets a great employee discount, too!<br />
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When I saw this, I had to waive it around a little bit and ask Dot WHAT UP? Why couldn't this be you? Why don't you get out there and get a high-profile job? Why aren't you selling fleece blankets and distressed leather chairs? You need to get a j-o-b little mama! You owe me $25!<br />
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I figure if Dash can do it, Dot can too.<br />
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Ah, well. It's just nice to know that little Dash made good.<br />
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And besides. Dot is too preoccupied to work at the moment. She is STILL confused by that strange little hole in the door going to the garage in our new house. She sits and ponders it deeply. She knows it somehow has something to do with her, but she just can't quite figure it out. Which is probably a good thing because should the light bulb ever go on and she actually try to get through that doggy door I highly suspect she would high center and be stuck like a cork in a bottle.<br />
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That's my girl!Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-76698975959490251252010-11-15T22:04:00.000-06:002010-11-15T22:04:02.854-06:00TodayWhat do you do when you get that slightly "blue" feeling?<br />
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Job searching is hard. And scary. And intimidating. That's left me a little bit blue feeling today.<br />
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Randy is out of town. That's left me a little bit blue feeling today.<br />
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It gets dark here now beginning at 3:30. By 4:30 it's completely dark. That's left me a little bit blue feeling today.<br />
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It's rainy and cold. That's left me a little bit blue feeling today.<br />
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Now don't get me wrong, it's nothing bad, just feeling a little bit blue and a little bit homesick today. To be expected.<br />
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So, to keep myself occupied tonight after a long day of job searching I decided to unpack more boxes. We're making progress! And what did I open tonight? Some of the beautiful things that people gave us for our wedding. I will never be able to thank people enough for their kindness. Just seeing those things and thinking of those people has made me feel so much better. Everyone was so nice!<br />
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But when I got to our pretty new Riedel wine glasses I realized I was in waaaaaaay over my head. <br />
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Friends, the Riedel Wine Glass Company makes BEAUTIFUL wine glasses but I am completely intimidated by them! We have two of them. Two perfect wine glasses. I found myself flicking the rim with my middle finger just to hear their pretty crystal ring. I've never had stemware so nice.<br />
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But to keep these two glasses perfect I learned that I need to follow these instructions as outlined on the box:<br />
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1. Wash under warm water, detergent is not necessary.<br />
2. Place on linen to dry for the time being.<br />
3. For extra shine, steam over boiling water.<br />
4. To polish use 2 microfiber crystal towels.<br />
5. Hold glass by base and polish. NEVER twist the base and the bowl.<br />
6. Use left hand to cradle the bowl and polish with your right hand.<br />
7. Perfect result.<br />
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What?! WOW! Sticking these babies in the dishwasher is apparently out of the question! That's a lot of work! Don't get me wrong. These glasses were on our wish list and I am so honored to have them, but I HAD NO IDEA!<br />
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For some reason these detailed instructions struck me as hilarious so I just sat in my kitchen cracking up at the complexities of life. From job searching to learning your way around a new marriage and a new community to dealing with physical changes to taking care of your wine glasses. It's all a process that can sometimes feel really, really big and heavy. But what can you do? This is life and sometimes life is hard. You just have to do your best, follow the rules, make the best decisions you can, and hope for a #7. <br />
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Feeling a lot less blue, I filled my beautiful wine glass with milk and had some dinner. And I managed to clean the wine glass just fine, afterwards.Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-82191461171829115012010-11-15T01:27:00.000-06:002010-11-15T01:27:59.200-06:00Then Turn Right at the Taxidermy Shop on the CornerWell this is a new one for me. <br />
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Good to know, given how close we live to Mount St. Helens. <br />
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Problem is, in an effort to be fully prepared should she blow, I tried to follow the Eatonville volcano evacuation route for a little ways, but after this particular sign...nothing. No more signs. There's a big arrow on this sign pointing in the direction I'm supposed to go, but after that, what? Which street, twist, turn or general fork in the road past this sign is the right way to flee the steaming ash plumes and molten lava? <br />
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I need a more detailed map!Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-60909027655516768712010-11-11T01:18:00.000-06:002010-11-11T01:18:53.696-06:00Thank You!Happy Veterans Day and a big thank you to all who have served in the military. <br />
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You are all real heroes. <br />
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And if you are a certain C-17 Loadmaster, you are my very favorite veteran of all. Thanks for what you do.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6LKHbpY1BWp1_TFLTCQVGWgU7m-uVnSDZf5vBu4lL3DR3eTTbrFFLB0ehuLPJ8fKwq2bo7P9Pwk7D0YCrfW4NRkCoGNDM7fLZaebaXaxgfrHqaqQ8EYIBde3Ib7dBdsjCkht9Q/s1600/100_1909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6LKHbpY1BWp1_TFLTCQVGWgU7m-uVnSDZf5vBu4lL3DR3eTTbrFFLB0ehuLPJ8fKwq2bo7P9Pwk7D0YCrfW4NRkCoGNDM7fLZaebaXaxgfrHqaqQ8EYIBde3Ib7dBdsjCkht9Q/s400/100_1909.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-60631261639465862422010-11-09T23:09:00.000-06:002010-11-09T23:09:00.062-06:00Who Was That Masked Man?<div style="text-align: left;">Winged cuteness prevailed in the Holliday household this Halloween! </div><br />
Mason was a beautiful peacock.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDn94CvHFMS5fZOPJfgKOwTcmpkOespexRyciFa0EsFjnGOrvpVG-bCJvwP7cP-BroyLhwMyL4b6wqr_iL22MVm3l0bDAT_LcFzvG0Oa4pKeQ9pNr3KO5q0iBqST6nF3qQvDxYg/s1600/Mason+Halloween+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDn94CvHFMS5fZOPJfgKOwTcmpkOespexRyciFa0EsFjnGOrvpVG-bCJvwP7cP-BroyLhwMyL4b6wqr_iL22MVm3l0bDAT_LcFzvG0Oa4pKeQ9pNr3KO5q0iBqST6nF3qQvDxYg/s320/Mason+Halloween+2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Maybe she was inspired by this mask I brought her from New Orleans last year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAuDw7Ins99U2iv3uWPV-Dlxat5xi1h9Go_xKeegmzLiwEAj1ABcc4_ihOu6ByJ9JmMmiEU6ElqsQ0yhPW51g-vFkrBzMtEmq1Nh-LsQN1UyVLY9MtCYp-_jmF3pU-C71vMBjYFw/s1600/100_0109_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAuDw7Ins99U2iv3uWPV-Dlxat5xi1h9Go_xKeegmzLiwEAj1ABcc4_ihOu6ByJ9JmMmiEU6ElqsQ0yhPW51g-vFkrBzMtEmq1Nh-LsQN1UyVLY9MtCYp-_jmF3pU-C71vMBjYFw/s320/100_0109_2.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Ruby was a flamingo. Just kill me now with those adorable, long striped legs. And the hat! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqDcT61HJuEbiQrS2V6NSXWGes4Vitnouoa_phWExy-jjHTMJxKaCOngmqYW06_luetWTpzXLYbYdErPWLPi5MmRMGFDrI4MqO6qMyDqovrcdpbU2bWlK3JbwVuC2QzwQIrrWYw/s1600/Ruby+Halloween+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqDcT61HJuEbiQrS2V6NSXWGes4Vitnouoa_phWExy-jjHTMJxKaCOngmqYW06_luetWTpzXLYbYdErPWLPi5MmRMGFDrI4MqO6qMyDqovrcdpbU2bWlK3JbwVuC2QzwQIrrWYw/s320/Ruby+Halloween+2010.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I think the pink sweater on Ruby was the one she wore in my wedding and I absolutely, positively cannot believe that I DIDN'T THINK OF ADDING THE PINK FEATHERS MYSELF! How much more adorable would that have been? <br />
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It is apparent that Ruby takes after her great grandmother and namesake Ruby Jo Lewis.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IzQPfqvmMSuz1LPYfnWyaBnsit6LZ7J2NE19ZScTxV3erkToJ8ETdPV9XYUaVMPqbHngmOjO17q4-m3roMCKSXzg6d5p1015VcsUHRbtAquI0kI6zX6HcZG3T9WWWATwyqE3rQ/s1600/100_2052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IzQPfqvmMSuz1LPYfnWyaBnsit6LZ7J2NE19ZScTxV3erkToJ8ETdPV9XYUaVMPqbHngmOjO17q4-m3roMCKSXzg6d5p1015VcsUHRbtAquI0kI6zX6HcZG3T9WWWATwyqE3rQ/s320/100_2052.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
But how can my girls be so grown up?<br />
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Shouldn't they still look more like this?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZDjZQXSOol1Wv7S_FNCihc8Fpn1Za07Q7ee0b28WdHWlzZ9J8DFLVyLBBhYU7Gvfxbm44FR9ydw1Bi-v9Uf9OrFhKIEkXk23mXQXlYy-hsLUl8btIYlG7eTXxOezDL7Je3Vb-g/s1600/IMG_0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZDjZQXSOol1Wv7S_FNCihc8Fpn1Za07Q7ee0b28WdHWlzZ9J8DFLVyLBBhYU7Gvfxbm44FR9ydw1Bi-v9Uf9OrFhKIEkXk23mXQXlYy-hsLUl8btIYlG7eTXxOezDL7Je3Vb-g/s320/IMG_0241.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Or this?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3AHUIJAvm6LqzYgHRO3SEvy5uJxq083qNsg6cofRRQ3ZwACmd3FHdCCdJ3mKT_abVDJ7fYQNXNOwl-iXGOjLypV5ZbhS6DunTUYjWnGgtcuiGZpg0OfbOBC4FdJvi3IfPliym-g/s1600/kids+shana+camara+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3AHUIJAvm6LqzYgHRO3SEvy5uJxq083qNsg6cofRRQ3ZwACmd3FHdCCdJ3mKT_abVDJ7fYQNXNOwl-iXGOjLypV5ZbhS6DunTUYjWnGgtcuiGZpg0OfbOBC4FdJvi3IfPliym-g/s320/kids+shana+camara+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Or this?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIm8mkPWQiQE8lINCmiNG-01utlz5yZOyEsGSto_mvXxyk0e0vtx34Jyq_jNlfXOi5ZnhcNb5bwGop_E1QBoZvYJOd9eZcZjNdXg17EK9hamwZD5og5zl4SdMsYfH4XHaCluy7qA/s1600/IMG_1217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIm8mkPWQiQE8lINCmiNG-01utlz5yZOyEsGSto_mvXxyk0e0vtx34Jyq_jNlfXOi5ZnhcNb5bwGop_E1QBoZvYJOd9eZcZjNdXg17EK9hamwZD5og5zl4SdMsYfH4XHaCluy7qA/s320/IMG_1217.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Or this?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/loriholliday/175896767/" title="Little Frog by Dotopotamus, on Flickr"><img alt="Little Frog" height="500" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/64/175896767_68d95c4424.jpg" width="325" /></a></div><br />
Or this? Another bird!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/loriholliday/175900553/" title="Little Chicken by Dotopotamus, on Flickr"><img alt="Little Chicken" height="500" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/49/175900553_a73637cd2a.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
Or this?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqqbooEcXBSaKWglrRKLU80Hgln1gRg2ROxDchj5wYn6GxRaONmMGTR81nvkOy6th1wACJfg-AqI5I_iJnULxdWbxcL01kB3Q53NTlfr6UZvYvDSN0KLHRiBhiUkRyavnkzXjpQ/s1600/Mason+Pumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqqbooEcXBSaKWglrRKLU80Hgln1gRg2ROxDchj5wYn6GxRaONmMGTR81nvkOy6th1wACJfg-AqI5I_iJnULxdWbxcL01kB3Q53NTlfr6UZvYvDSN0KLHRiBhiUkRyavnkzXjpQ/s320/Mason+Pumpkin.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><br />
Oh my goodness where has the time gone?<br />
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Randy and I couldn't decided what to be for Halloween this year.<br />
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Viking? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILinWKlAKnUsKXi-CHjt0_7O7OZ1JWqQTpdpMrUnaaZArbQzG5Sy6O3aO_lvplnn_wCUW_gvCBfKiuF9-isRMGUECaUqOd5P5U5By2Hy7q1SHNUGzd6F9Tuq4JodtH1m5iSmihQ/s1600/100_2008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILinWKlAKnUsKXi-CHjt0_7O7OZ1JWqQTpdpMrUnaaZArbQzG5Sy6O3aO_lvplnn_wCUW_gvCBfKiuF9-isRMGUECaUqOd5P5U5By2Hy7q1SHNUGzd6F9Tuq4JodtH1m5iSmihQ/s320/100_2008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Banana bowl?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWadPH7Vf-cD0sLd6QKYu-5kdWsLjrEF1EHcRyI3mM9SNvE6sQdd4I-n0zyF07AbycKzQn36KBln585URtxgKk_FzuuZNQycE2G4YtEAE3nC-IhTB4xon4YKZ9yKb34EDw_LsO4A/s1600/100_2011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWadPH7Vf-cD0sLd6QKYu-5kdWsLjrEF1EHcRyI3mM9SNvE6sQdd4I-n0zyF07AbycKzQn36KBln585URtxgKk_FzuuZNQycE2G4YtEAE3nC-IhTB4xon4YKZ9yKb34EDw_LsO4A/s320/100_2011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Pirate?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguj0xdb729txFMX61NhNx8uZWs4nh-Ct3xPkZ0pAmWsg6SV-XmzYY_TdthS6iRW8rh5PoYB2UC6OC0yz8IX0xX74PcqqX9vBngQ5WIe1Hes4lZOCPLDHYooxr-L097JnKOyX54WQ/s1600/100_2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguj0xdb729txFMX61NhNx8uZWs4nh-Ct3xPkZ0pAmWsg6SV-XmzYY_TdthS6iRW8rh5PoYB2UC6OC0yz8IX0xX74PcqqX9vBngQ5WIe1Hes4lZOCPLDHYooxr-L097JnKOyX54WQ/s320/100_2010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Queen? (Everything's better with Blue Bonnet on it...)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbF8uwhX2q9UXOSI9LIWITrHcNlz11_pgGIuExs9kzrakxeF1gJ9CJ5J6Wth6EJcUhMyBHYYVUBIcD_SyhE2xG9C31O450si4tBX5io33jDZChYlcLi-S8y-6Xdjs2GiMkHRGBA/s1600/100_2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbF8uwhX2q9UXOSI9LIWITrHcNlz11_pgGIuExs9kzrakxeF1gJ9CJ5J6Wth6EJcUhMyBHYYVUBIcD_SyhE2xG9C31O450si4tBX5io33jDZChYlcLi-S8y-6Xdjs2GiMkHRGBA/s320/100_2012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Greek tug boat captain?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-Ftn2lVzOVqenrbW3AmPzT1_x021u8D2IbJB7oIqyOZrDTwYazV4qOXf-HwVRaUIvgHf2jUb-TI4gvo19uFmV5jnforznUlT7X1iODIaiHixljpv_c_m23h2XGU8JLgVKyEamg/s1600/100_2013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-Ftn2lVzOVqenrbW3AmPzT1_x021u8D2IbJB7oIqyOZrDTwYazV4qOXf-HwVRaUIvgHf2jUb-TI4gvo19uFmV5jnforznUlT7X1iODIaiHixljpv_c_m23h2XGU8JLgVKyEamg/s320/100_2013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Carmen Miranda?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYMvL-axn1w9I8J7kKVGmQCVU7vZbyhfio_sUc_flSgBQz-NV8YNV1zqVFFoRwQE4-1a_l_4peqmggoMrUzBijd1Y8TsjwMBfmcALpy0J8VHNGhSpZtCEYZrefmKo8D2nK8pldA/s1600/100_2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYMvL-axn1w9I8J7kKVGmQCVU7vZbyhfio_sUc_flSgBQz-NV8YNV1zqVFFoRwQE4-1a_l_4peqmggoMrUzBijd1Y8TsjwMBfmcALpy0J8VHNGhSpZtCEYZrefmKo8D2nK8pldA/s320/100_2014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We couldn't decide so we settled on goof balls. <br />
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But Dot knew that for the fourth year running she wanted to be La La!<br />
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I think that we should wear more costumes. Casual Friday becomes Costume Friday from now on. Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-60065073105300169692010-11-07T19:40:00.000-06:002010-11-07T19:40:42.570-06:00Scenes From HomeI love this little flower stand that is just below our house. This lady grows really beautiful flowers in her rustic, wild garden and then she puts sweet little bouquets together in jars, places them on her stand where there is an envelope to leave money and a note asking you to bring back her jars.<br />
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Randy knows how much I love flowers so he has left his money in the envelope a few times. Her dahlias are so beautiful.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIh4OlmtIWKW4cM1HMVcvTqrtg67X72Bpw9UBB7cJEYtiG2dPlrjzwIpT1cOC_add2ksTmjSJtknEMB1TtNY4DYV54SgX4Mts5ut_kjBzFIx9k_tMy7ei5ysx6funXhYBATYzqA/s1600/100_1857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIh4OlmtIWKW4cM1HMVcvTqrtg67X72Bpw9UBB7cJEYtiG2dPlrjzwIpT1cOC_add2ksTmjSJtknEMB1TtNY4DYV54SgX4Mts5ut_kjBzFIx9k_tMy7ei5ysx6funXhYBATYzqA/s320/100_1857.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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The other day I noticed she added some gourds. <br />
<br />
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I'm hoping this winter she will leave plates of homemade cookies and thermoses of hot chocolate!<br />
<br />
But here's the big news.<br />
<br />
Randy got home from his mission on Saturday. Yay! <br />
<br />
But that's not really the big news.<br />
<br />
Saturday night Randy says, "Lori, come here, there's something I want to show you."<br />
<br />
And then I fainted. <br />
<br />
Randy sets up game cameras in the woods and it's fun to see those pictures to check out what's roaming around out there during the dark hours. So, guess what was roaming around out there last week 80 YARDS FROM MY FRONT DOOR?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWefvYdR7ozDcb8aRif2CgoV-oFhgDiDUBHUA_ecL4OY4cknrz8lZQirWY-_UJWmNKR7QWJ13KuY7WZLPj3WR0IR9NH3SvadPTxkeKIQVq8BKuOaUsldD1qaycrjKBR1do8aBpiw/s1600/Bear+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWefvYdR7ozDcb8aRif2CgoV-oFhgDiDUBHUA_ecL4OY4cknrz8lZQirWY-_UJWmNKR7QWJ13KuY7WZLPj3WR0IR9NH3SvadPTxkeKIQVq8BKuOaUsldD1qaycrjKBR1do8aBpiw/s320/Bear+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWefvYdR7ozDcb8aRif2CgoV-oFhgDiDUBHUA_ecL4OY4cknrz8lZQirWY-_UJWmNKR7QWJ13KuY7WZLPj3WR0IR9NH3SvadPTxkeKIQVq8BKuOaUsldD1qaycrjKBR1do8aBpiw/s1600/Bear+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yEP_OwrxudEsyLPprbH_NiEVtJRHvWhzepd_hddr4VkkHkVYExwlM-RTigLtG3TTSSP8wM5HgZLYl8kVE6shj_DiJJwHOnGKAMndGKNK_n0xHMfX3dZtC8iRSylueuh4B6d_0A/s1600/Bear+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yEP_OwrxudEsyLPprbH_NiEVtJRHvWhzepd_hddr4VkkHkVYExwlM-RTigLtG3TTSSP8wM5HgZLYl8kVE6shj_DiJJwHOnGKAMndGKNK_n0xHMfX3dZtC8iRSylueuh4B6d_0A/s320/Bear+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yEP_OwrxudEsyLPprbH_NiEVtJRHvWhzepd_hddr4VkkHkVYExwlM-RTigLtG3TTSSP8wM5HgZLYl8kVE6shj_DiJJwHOnGKAMndGKNK_n0xHMfX3dZtC8iRSylueuh4B6d_0A/s1600/Bear+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXl3lfIv2n8iF3FHrzZ78wUMXFgMv6TIiWElHTk20mwIuhGpwk6CbJP6hfxdDlChKvoC-if2NPobRfqV04qP0wDlncibTqxIw-KKaIzDMEtM2_lXLvFrDjyU_BspyUk_kvT9oSA/s1600/Bear+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXl3lfIv2n8iF3FHrzZ78wUMXFgMv6TIiWElHTk20mwIuhGpwk6CbJP6hfxdDlChKvoC-if2NPobRfqV04qP0wDlncibTqxIw-KKaIzDMEtM2_lXLvFrDjyU_BspyUk_kvT9oSA/s320/Bear+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Okay, in my OKC neighborhood the occasional stray dog was one thing but this is crazy! <br />
<br />
And look at the time stamp...the dude hung around there for hours. Awesome! <br />
<br />
Here's the thing... this was when Randy was overseas, so if I had been eaten by this bear during my leisurely nature stroll no one would have heard me or found me for a week. I can't tell you how this has freaked me out because I really like the idea of exploring the woods around our house. I had grand designs on becoming a birder! Now? Not so much. BECAUSE I HAVE BEARS LIVING 80 YARDS FROM ME!<br />
<br />
I am telling you, living in the wild woods of Washington is something. If it's not the vampires it's the bears. (Go Team Edward!). But we do have pretty dahlias.Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-17936410531735020542010-11-01T04:34:00.000-05:002010-11-01T04:34:00.136-05:00Greetings from Eatonville<i>Hello! Can I go ahead and add a P.S. at the beginning of this post instead of the end? </i><br />
<br />
<i>I have finished writing and am about to publish, but I want to offer fair warning. This long, rambling missive basically goes something like this:</i><br />
<br />
<i>1. Whine, whine, whine, poor me, poor me, whine, whine, whine</i><br />
<i>2. Here are some pictures!</i><br />
<br />
<i>I guess I needed the cathartic experience of writing about everything that's been going on, so thanks for humoring me, but if I were you I'd skip #1 and go straight to #2!</i><br />
<i>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</i><br />
<br />
Oh my gosh, I've missed you! <br />
<br />
I cannot tell you how happy I am to be here today.<br />
<br />
Because I disappeared for six weeks.<br />
<br />
Now I didn't plan on disappearing. I planned on transitioning smoothly into my new home in the Pacific Northwest with excitement, humor and ease, sharing lots of blog posts, pictures, Facebook updates, and emails. This was going to be a lot of fun and I wanted to share my journey with friends and family.<br />
<br />
Seriously. That's what I envisioned.<br />
<br />
So what happened?<br />
<br />
Basically, intention and reality did not sync up AT ALL.<br />
<br />
It will take a number of posts to fully explain, but in an effort not to bury the lead any deeper I'll begin by saying that the last six weeks have been the most ________ of my life.<br />
<br />
Okay, I've been pondering that sentence for a few minutes and I can't decide on THE word to use. I've considered:<br />
<br />
Stressful <br />
Exhausting<br />
Surreal <br />
Terrifying<br />
Disconnected<br />
Emotional<br />
Compressed<br />
Complicated<br />
Fastest<br />
<br />
Where are the happy words? Where are the words like Exciting or Adventerous or Amazing or Incredble?<br />
<br />
Well, here's the thing. While those might not be the words I'd choose to describe my last six weeks I can say that this weekend I have for the first time finally felt a glimmer, a modicum, a teeny tiny ray of hope that things might...MIGHT...begin to even out soon. Just knowing that things might be evening out (note that I didn't say "back to normal"...I'll just settle for "evening out" at this point) has had a calming effect on me like nothing else has in the last month.<br />
<br />
Dramatic, much?<br />
<br />
But you know what has made me feel the most encouraged? I FINALLY HAVE THE INTERNET, A LAND LINE, A CELL PHONE THAT WORKS, AND TV! All of these glorious, precious things finally came together for us last week and the fact that I can easily communicate with the outside world again is a wonderful thing. I have stories to share about what life has been like without technology but for now I'll explain by saying that my inability to communicate easily has been because I live 10 miles outside of Eatonville, Washington.<br />
<br />
Yes, Eatonville. You should check it out on Google Earth. You will see that it is a teeny tiny town in the woods about 45 miles from Tacoma. AND THAT'S THE THING. I kept telling people I was moving to Tacoma! Of course I knew that our house was out in the country. But I had only seen it once and in my excitement during that short visit it didn't really register with me how very rural we really were. And how long it takes us to get to Tacoma (about an hour). However, I knew that the Air Force base was in Tacoma and that is why we were moving in the first place so I just told people I was moving to Tacoma.<br />
<br />
I figured it was like saying "Oklahoma City" instead of "Edmond" or "Austin" instead of "Pflugerville". Everyone has heard of Oklahoma City and Austin. I figured everyone had heard of Tacoma and Seattle so that was the point of reference I used when telling where I was moving, never thinking that there was that much difference between Tacoma and Eatonville.<br />
<br />
There is a difference.<br />
<br />
Oh but yes, there is a difference.<br />
<br />
Let's just say that the harsh reality of how very rural we really are hit me so hard when we arrived here four weeks ago that I had a serious panic attack for the better part of three days. (The first two weeks of my last six week were in Texas - more on that another time. We've been here for a month.)<br />
<br />
Living 10 miles outside of Eatonville, in the woods, in a house surrounded by nothing but 100 foot fir trees and country roads has meant no cell phone service, no TV, and no Internet. Pretty much complete isolation from news, information, and contact with family and friends. Off the grid!<br />
<br />
But that's just the beginning of it.<br />
<br />
For the first two weeks, Randy and I lived in his trailer (oh, the stories) and during that time we were racing against the clock to get our home prepared before our furniture and things arrived fourteen days later. <br />
<br />
We don't have a mansion by any means, but we have a 2,100 square foot, two story house, and in two weeks just the two of us had to completely tear out every bit of carpet, prep and paint every single inch of the inside the house, install wood floors in every single room, replace blinds, light fixtures, and doors and get the land directly around our house reswailed because of a drainage problem! (Hey, did you know it rains in the Pacific Northwest?) <br />
<br />
What idiotic chumps who have no idea how to even begin to install wood floors or sliding closet doors or paint at lightening speed think they can do all of this in two weeks?<br />
<br />
Here! Right here! The chumps are right here and we are the Culvers! It's all HGTV and Home Depot's fault - oh they make it look so affordable and manageable and doable. I have learned that HGTV and Home Depot are for chumps like us!<br />
<br />
Anyway, I'll be sharing more about the home improvement projects soon, but here are a few highlight pictures of the action.<br />
<br />
Every single thing had to be covered, removed or taped off before the paint gun could be used. The prep work before painting and putting everything back together after painting was much harder than the painting itself. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkxUQXB5wSA9Ey_FH-2KWT79HsHhOyNt2EWgx584bMpmEt9cX_yQlr_QMVBGBIlGPWR9-u2ORLkRtrIUOya1Lac70lC2kTxlf2Z_ZWiFEbOYYz-0gO5O1auHccwQIcq6W7_cGDg/s1600/100_1882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkxUQXB5wSA9Ey_FH-2KWT79HsHhOyNt2EWgx584bMpmEt9cX_yQlr_QMVBGBIlGPWR9-u2ORLkRtrIUOya1Lac70lC2kTxlf2Z_ZWiFEbOYYz-0gO5O1auHccwQIcq6W7_cGDg/s320/100_1882.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUvhpCNYXfQ5h3egwPo13zZI8EsSw3cyedW1TQn3ecJBW6QxR-Yok-MnLtB603c2rxb2eHbOtkiiwWk3IpSzXTX89ef6UAGpqWzeQTX6A8byIi2eP3pwi4MLpfTzVrWqB6b4hRA/s1600/100_1880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUvhpCNYXfQ5h3egwPo13zZI8EsSw3cyedW1TQn3ecJBW6QxR-Yok-MnLtB603c2rxb2eHbOtkiiwWk3IpSzXTX89ef6UAGpqWzeQTX6A8byIi2eP3pwi4MLpfTzVrWqB6b4hRA/s320/100_1880.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I don't know how I will be able to convey how hard it was laying the floors. Randy became a master at it, however, while I pretty much cursed and cried my way through the rooms I did.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLf9KCt2c4x2i8T05rZMD9Fttbi6OTQYDG5_ail2xSZ1t9RBVYwwPDccrVLmJbHwt52h-XB-JNF6SHPXRcw1VNbemcVqLRVtZ1nZEF4T6xJ7egPYOcyUh-RhwGC1xVTt7axB2qA/s1600/100_1897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLf9KCt2c4x2i8T05rZMD9Fttbi6OTQYDG5_ail2xSZ1t9RBVYwwPDccrVLmJbHwt52h-XB-JNF6SHPXRcw1VNbemcVqLRVtZ1nZEF4T6xJ7egPYOcyUh-RhwGC1xVTt7axB2qA/s320/100_1897.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Having to get the land work done was completely unnerving and not at all what was expected. And hey...nothing like trying to figure out a way to keep your brand new dark wood floors clean when you are now living in a mud pit until spring when you can put in a yard! Because, did you know it rains a lot here?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsk69f8cOlrpC1p2cYHbR1hpugGZBwwMKbc4-mV2sFz4Eu353u6xHUgedim08VD-5BaNRImv4LaDGOoBLiQ8W9XrDrWrt4bL0t8L2QmBHSaV6Gnfu4KFOI3kx3DBX7NIhLiUFtDA/s1600/100_1883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsk69f8cOlrpC1p2cYHbR1hpugGZBwwMKbc4-mV2sFz4Eu353u6xHUgedim08VD-5BaNRImv4LaDGOoBLiQ8W9XrDrWrt4bL0t8L2QmBHSaV6Gnfu4KFOI3kx3DBX7NIhLiUFtDA/s320/100_1883.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dot was a big help, however. She could pull up carpeting like a pro! Oh wait a minute, that is she could SIT on carpeting like a pro.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJwoD3wHkmLjDCcI8zk1UamWjM19yr7mS5AWvFe4nRD5k2cN5GzG0_D4RIHlSsmeGdFair_chGD9gidXzIgcCsi5ntROCowppQbZpqGWyVPOgBHXV_5ozR5nQ_mX5fHttwMFevA/s1600/100_1873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJwoD3wHkmLjDCcI8zk1UamWjM19yr7mS5AWvFe4nRD5k2cN5GzG0_D4RIHlSsmeGdFair_chGD9gidXzIgcCsi5ntROCowppQbZpqGWyVPOgBHXV_5ozR5nQ_mX5fHttwMFevA/s320/100_1873.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
So somehow we got it all done. We were so tired, sore and beat to a pulp by the time our household goods arrived that I thought we weren't going to make it. But the good times had just begun. We got to unload not just my house full of stuff but Randy's house full of stuff, too! Since we didn't live together before we got married we had never combined our stuff. Wow. Talk about stressful! That's a future Dotopotamus post for sure.<br />
<br />
By now it was week three and Randy had to go to work and I had to start the job search process while we were also trying desperately to deal with the mountain of boxes and furniture that were out of control. I had to come off the mountain and out of the woods and figure out how to get to Tacoma and find my way around and all I can say is thank goodness for TomTom. But the hammer came down so hard that week we were just pummeled. Highlights include such things as having to saw down 7, 100' fir trees, finding emergency treatment for Dot, me having to get a tetanus shot, trying to figure out why my mail hadn't been forwarded in some way that didn't involve being able to call or email, having to get my car inspected (long story), and Randy suddenly having to go to Oregon for two days.<br />
<br />
But best of all? Finding out we were going to be moving to New Mexico in six months! Yeah, that punch to the gut almost killed me. And then after getting to process and deal with that emotional burden for almost a week finding out "just kidding! You're going to stay here Randy but we're going to give you a really great job in this different squadron and you are going to have to fly a lot now and by the way, your first 10-day mission leaves on Tuesday!"<br />
<br />
And through it all, no cell phone service that worked at home, land line, TV or Internet. I would do laundry in Eatonville on Sundays and could sometimes get cell phone service there so would call my mom and dad. They told me that concerned people were calling asking where I was! I am so sorry everyone. If you called my cell or sent me a text, chances are I didn't get it and email has been out of the question until this weekend. <br />
<br />
So finally last week when we drew the line, said "enough", and figured out how to get those things. Our new cell phone service still isn't great because it's hard to get service when you live in the middle of the woods, but the land line works well. And after taking down 7, 100' trees we were able to get satellite TV service! And thanks to the phone company in Eatonville finally installing fiber up our way, we can get some Internet. It's slow as Christmas, but it's the Internet!<br />
<br />
So that brings us to the present. Randy is somewhere in Africa tonight and will be gone for another week, but Dot and I are here in the middle of nowhere Eatonville, Washington on a mountain in the woods trying to regain some perspective and find my sense of humor that I lost a couple of weeks ago. And because I'm missing my friends and family, my colleagues, my job, and familiarity with my surroundings, I have stopped unpacking boxes and putting things away so that I can reconnect to everyone. I'm afraid to open Facebook for the first time in six weeks for fear it might explode!<br />
<br />
I apologize for the length of this missive. I guess it's been cathartic for me so thanks for letting me get it all out. I think the thing that still surprises me the most is how DIFFERENT this experience has been from how I thought it would be. Major life changes are a younger person's game! <br />
<br />
In an effort to be more positive, I'll give you a brief tour of my drive to Eatonville. The countryside here is absolutely stunningly gorgeous and I am in awe of its glory every time I set foot outside. Mt. Rainier is just amazing and I get to see her first thing when I leave the house.<br />
<br />
Here is the meadow down from our house, the first time I get to see this gorgeous sight.<br />
<br />
<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then she comes into full view. I can't imagine ever getting used to seeing this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWuebGFBVaG5q0-HlddGDZzkDvJuB-l47bDAuzyg0GN18KmoUIOKCbi1U81agFSkeqj0HdmQAU1QNMBru8But25AuD18KvkwVor7ZPQBS01nOfs4GSwMEaatrX6p8pRouaWSxKQ/s1600/100_1930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWuebGFBVaG5q0-HlddGDZzkDvJuB-l47bDAuzyg0GN18KmoUIOKCbi1U81agFSkeqj0HdmQAU1QNMBru8But25AuD18KvkwVor7ZPQBS01nOfs4GSwMEaatrX6p8pRouaWSxKQ/s320/100_1930.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I turn the corner and I pretend I am driving straight to the top of the mountain.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then I drive through lots of woods on a hilly, twisty road. It's beautiful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9TcFmilkiPXMm7Y6zURN73U_M96Iqhtl94QTD37ekhltuULKam6zU1pSqdsBZdreFaA16mAsugUY3Q1XBeiGFUqLc2NjD-LsVaqJJKtXcMOBe_ymW3Y8rDVZavZLEVGNIzT87A/s1600/100_1936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9TcFmilkiPXMm7Y6zURN73U_M96Iqhtl94QTD37ekhltuULKam6zU1pSqdsBZdreFaA16mAsugUY3Q1XBeiGFUqLc2NjD-LsVaqJJKtXcMOBe_ymW3Y8rDVZavZLEVGNIzT87A/s320/100_1936.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5w-9sP16nRLwrbnZpU_bWQRgChsi7Au9QJzsDRItNDkyHOGz5bznl4k5eTPpVdOXUza6GVocJVeEJeUmiRgsYdrez9FZkZMyTuNN8LDpp5B8o9LkH0SlGJ3UNuQZvWD5jZotMxA/s1600/100_1937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5w-9sP16nRLwrbnZpU_bWQRgChsi7Au9QJzsDRItNDkyHOGz5bznl4k5eTPpVdOXUza6GVocJVeEJeUmiRgsYdrez9FZkZMyTuNN8LDpp5B8o9LkH0SlGJ3UNuQZvWD5jZotMxA/s320/100_1937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After about 8 miles, I get to the Eatonville turn. I love this sign. You can see that my little town has food! And fuel! And espresso!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54Hd8GkZdCGeNyV0B5Gcpz1NSCYwQAdmUrFMICFKcXNl9-mZLLWz4o87zv_Q1y2-o88_qFJo0wLDfrg1AnqPYr2D1104D2s5dUD4716pKsg4m-gsKV_yejkk1h7HbxeEYQ7qMvA/s1600/100_1938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54Hd8GkZdCGeNyV0B5Gcpz1NSCYwQAdmUrFMICFKcXNl9-mZLLWz4o87zv_Q1y2-o88_qFJo0wLDfrg1AnqPYr2D1104D2s5dUD4716pKsg4m-gsKV_yejkk1h7HbxeEYQ7qMvA/s320/100_1938.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
But once I make the turn I have to slow down to 25 mph for the last two miles. Why so slow, Eatonville, why so slow? Sometimes I feel like telling Dot to take the wheel and meet me at the grocery store because I can get out a walk faster than we are driving. <br />
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</div>But then Mt. Rainier comes back into view and I know I'm close. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I get into town I first pass the library, the police station and the post office on the right before getting to main street. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0toNWYUti923MPlTFCYnhizi-58m1cC_y2EsXOMmo3YJJ_ko72TokTTvKbKNoS051m86Wc5l4ltPZs5Tk_RGUwQacjcI_OZP3IBF9kL6APZr45tJXh4EMvATZv4Y967ni1_h_aw/s1600/100_1944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0toNWYUti923MPlTFCYnhizi-58m1cC_y2EsXOMmo3YJJ_ko72TokTTvKbKNoS051m86Wc5l4ltPZs5Tk_RGUwQacjcI_OZP3IBF9kL6APZr45tJXh4EMvATZv4Y967ni1_h_aw/s320/100_1944.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the cute bakery in town with the as advertised espresso. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqIyxsSu_rk9mtL-mDdEsJ3sdzBKkX59KZ6OjV1Rm4_eZX5LVkKVWa_YeAYY5f5VjOh0Rn9hP05vDR95mzNMygsaL7Rkhwq-dBXoE2oN7TVWve2nF6O_q9ynxMQrZKizl2mJy2Q/s1600/100_1949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqIyxsSu_rk9mtL-mDdEsJ3sdzBKkX59KZ6OjV1Rm4_eZX5LVkKVWa_YeAYY5f5VjOh0Rn9hP05vDR95mzNMygsaL7Rkhwq-dBXoE2oN7TVWve2nF6O_q9ynxMQrZKizl2mJy2Q/s320/100_1949.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We have the Roxy movie theater that is open Friday and Saturday nights showing one flick.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMjCS4xmMfENoDrfhe-2DNkxw8kZr3_tg1ecOssgpj69sEUqkuDD15VnX6VYs0kdEj4RMtcSw9damV9bqtF1wB-RXs83P2cnQ6ZSSgUAGI3Yho5U7G03Cq58MEGw0A3XqnG41HQ/s1600/100_1954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMjCS4xmMfENoDrfhe-2DNkxw8kZr3_tg1ecOssgpj69sEUqkuDD15VnX6VYs0kdEj4RMtcSw9damV9bqtF1wB-RXs83P2cnQ6ZSSgUAGI3Yho5U7G03Cq58MEGw0A3XqnG41HQ/s320/100_1954.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the restaurant Bruno's but it's the building with the mural that I will always hold near and dear as it has a teeny tiny laundromat in it that I got to know well those first few weeks. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuvHV9nZEo23LzfWzY-OnAGjBo8i8TDKv3Hh9KTQNtWk9z2tqVoorOqFasz8Tq8ua4G-tprMEPQ1jFgZf9Sw4Qzo7sQ1z-wGNTZHj1bZFJBTvFjKtIypU0WnmXpsMOr4GeW1cyg/s1600/100_1951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuvHV9nZEo23LzfWzY-OnAGjBo8i8TDKv3Hh9KTQNtWk9z2tqVoorOqFasz8Tq8ua4G-tprMEPQ1jFgZf9Sw4Qzo7sQ1z-wGNTZHj1bZFJBTvFjKtIypU0WnmXpsMOr4GeW1cyg/s320/100_1951.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And this is the one stop light in town. It's not even a real stop light. It's just a blinking red light that creates a four-way stop. But you can see the grocery store from here. I LOVE the grocery store. Super small and right out of 1972. A future blog post, for sure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29L7x06OsDB9NZPtTQxQxN4_S0nEneaifkoTHjobdyxOSWCPyNHgNBV70jTNiO4dfOjC83KssTvgREmFjbKRHi3D52WyfPBs_PActKLHMsQzjNFDFk9BR8setEbcQpqEi1jUqug/s1600/100_1950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29L7x06OsDB9NZPtTQxQxN4_S0nEneaifkoTHjobdyxOSWCPyNHgNBV70jTNiO4dfOjC83KssTvgREmFjbKRHi3D52WyfPBs_PActKLHMsQzjNFDFk9BR8setEbcQpqEi1jUqug/s320/100_1950.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And by the gas station, I saw this sign. I didn't have time to explore, but my curiosity was definitely piqued! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4y5YBTHV1fIzXw4n6bg9cMT7HvOBmbGZsW8dTPZi0hd68Gsx4IHjI9VwEp3REcgLODGAMn1CFK3dKd7awJFa57_5XSgkMARDfgm4rp96SzY4M528M99dO5rs3majFCai-0JzCQ/s1600/100_1958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4y5YBTHV1fIzXw4n6bg9cMT7HvOBmbGZsW8dTPZi0hd68Gsx4IHjI9VwEp3REcgLODGAMn1CFK3dKd7awJFa57_5XSgkMARDfgm4rp96SzY4M528M99dO5rs3majFCai-0JzCQ/s320/100_1958.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
So hopefully this ends my communication black out and I look forward to catching up with everyone and hearing what's going on with you! I'll be posting frequently now because there is a lot to share. <br />
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Even though I've whined and cried my way through this post I have to say that underneath all of the anxiousness and stress, I do feel extremely grateful for the opportunity to live life with Randy. I look forward to exploring this beautiful part of the world, finding a job, making some friends, and making it our home. Hopefully you all will come up for a visit! In the meantime, I just wish I could find in what box I packed my blow dryer.Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-57437967867315523602010-09-12T17:45:00.001-05:002010-09-12T17:47:45.610-05:00Moving DayThis was a big week for me. It was moving week. Saying goodbye to my house, my job, and the city and state I've called home for six years.<br />
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And how awesome is this? We haven't received any rain of note in Oklahoma City in months but on moving day? HELLO HURRICANE HERMINE! Yep. It started raining in the wee hours of the morning and didn't let up until that night! I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. I decided to look at it as a good luck omen since I'm moving to the Pacific NW where it rains a lot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BV1laURFPXMqo99lJhc7xAKYd2IaW9XFMm2cBi8ezt2vRz8QodBQ6L7Nzp-aWL-HBpck7ZtVo6fAnPvNJrNSZvuibMWeYoztpfI_dybfC0r0Xxm4SlS8x9qQxsKuNF3WOz1S4A/s1600/100_1596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BV1laURFPXMqo99lJhc7xAKYd2IaW9XFMm2cBi8ezt2vRz8QodBQ6L7Nzp-aWL-HBpck7ZtVo6fAnPvNJrNSZvuibMWeYoztpfI_dybfC0r0Xxm4SlS8x9qQxsKuNF3WOz1S4A/s400/100_1596.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
At 7:45 a.m. the movers arrived with a truck that, in all seriousness, could hold the contents of ten houses my size. It was a bit intimidating for my little neighborhood street.<br />
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The organized chaos ensued and bit by bit they started moving my stuff out the door. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ML4bAKg6JMcH6pFozMIbntINq4Y7DiZlvP3RaIWWeUVhudPWdUBJx_VahHbBwFOFZBVkkRcOren3nmFcyYmVXKnPRpxEwLoo4DMM3UOKIAldxyDG9QrveyNhD-nfHPJabjdorw/s1600/100_1591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ML4bAKg6JMcH6pFozMIbntINq4Y7DiZlvP3RaIWWeUVhudPWdUBJx_VahHbBwFOFZBVkkRcOren3nmFcyYmVXKnPRpxEwLoo4DMM3UOKIAldxyDG9QrveyNhD-nfHPJabjdorw/s400/100_1591.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Don't forget my cowboy hats! A girl can never have enough cowboy hats.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ogmDO6BKFRra1jkJ0HnKrM44rTHACBModCMJeKv4kLchRAexHycuhJc8SbxOA4ZcsD_ICr-JNkUVFveMCglALxU_nohFtig7MVkr0CmBhdje-2bjbnplLr2qC45rQviO_x3RpA/s1600/100_1588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ogmDO6BKFRra1jkJ0HnKrM44rTHACBModCMJeKv4kLchRAexHycuhJc8SbxOA4ZcsD_ICr-JNkUVFveMCglALxU_nohFtig7MVkr0CmBhdje-2bjbnplLr2qC45rQviO_x3RpA/s400/100_1588.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
When I ran to get lunch for the movers I got soaked. THANKS HURRICANE HERMINE!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrcU-J2fkv0ZUvEWYsE5ZmufpNIyETEhKk0t0slF3rNmqr7GpYCV5f2m6aIA7Wz6FyssgozdGyyVkcZE_Cky6H0Ob0fm-uzy5dFGtJymXQQ2i8ekJGunXRJ8dyA8cubZlSDUdbg/s1600/100_1597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrcU-J2fkv0ZUvEWYsE5ZmufpNIyETEhKk0t0slF3rNmqr7GpYCV5f2m6aIA7Wz6FyssgozdGyyVkcZE_Cky6H0Ob0fm-uzy5dFGtJymXQQ2i8ekJGunXRJ8dyA8cubZlSDUdbg/s400/100_1597.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
After about nine hours of packing and hauling and loading and arranging...all of my worldly contents were packed up in the giant truck that drove away...and in so doing hopped the curve and busted a low hanging limb off a neighbor's tree...and is now in transit to Washington as we speak.<br />
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And then my little house was empty.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PCwvh_y2gzt9ZEaAHfENRYjirtOtRXkCPrQUNWrylpGSriGNb4AGRqVaCipWVYQfKHRMySMucIJCn7yS4gACa9H-2f6bcNfh_5V-TWgGFi5kMZSl6U9_yNND-RrwDY-UXW9LkQ/s1600/100_1600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PCwvh_y2gzt9ZEaAHfENRYjirtOtRXkCPrQUNWrylpGSriGNb4AGRqVaCipWVYQfKHRMySMucIJCn7yS4gACa9H-2f6bcNfh_5V-TWgGFi5kMZSl6U9_yNND-RrwDY-UXW9LkQ/s400/100_1600.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Well, almost empty.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIMVpuLO7-r1Lc4EvRBwH0uIFr4s0ITep4_N1Puha6GE9kuLJen9IqBfbh27KWZEbsF2agpy3ib7-wP02qMiWnap_yAb1nDbhFY1rzT5g5OCbMR5SSkPWk9KrbYW_icVeD08tZQ/s1600/100_1599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIMVpuLO7-r1Lc4EvRBwH0uIFr4s0ITep4_N1Puha6GE9kuLJen9IqBfbh27KWZEbsF2agpy3ib7-wP02qMiWnap_yAb1nDbhFY1rzT5g5OCbMR5SSkPWk9KrbYW_icVeD08tZQ/s400/100_1599.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And so it is done. <br />
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I will miss my wonderful friends who gave me one of the best going away presents thanks to Holly's clever maneuvering. One that bridged my home in Oklahoma with my new home in Washington...an OETA umbrella that everyone signed! Because umbrellas are a big necessity where I'm going. I love it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkPV0Y_5ykbgcKBHu1MzuL56ZdV6cvW32y1GOWQ1aPN3qJO7enSGzWXV1buqZuoHdFxRLg3ZKOWS7ytBx6xgnF1IyLFZhFbgbJ3H0l3ZbJgl-L1TebpGgcTmdfXOyFuAx2xhOng/s1600/100_1653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkPV0Y_5ykbgcKBHu1MzuL56ZdV6cvW32y1GOWQ1aPN3qJO7enSGzWXV1buqZuoHdFxRLg3ZKOWS7ytBx6xgnF1IyLFZhFbgbJ3H0l3ZbJgl-L1TebpGgcTmdfXOyFuAx2xhOng/s400/100_1653.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And I love that all of my wonderful colleagues signed...even my favorite six-year old colleague Max. He gives me hugs when he sees me and it brightens my day.<br />
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Thank you for everything, Oklahoma. We will miss you.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyB5au0f_hKQszX-l4yA1GwsHchZW41Vj7MdnpGZSyLBaKUhRyhGazQV0VrXtUV5s70SqEYIUcZRBFhn_JDzUxL9tkczIpRB_5c-q_2QQ6nERs77j_vBbO2WD4A06hVEsk43OxA/s1600/IMG_0752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyB5au0f_hKQszX-l4yA1GwsHchZW41Vj7MdnpGZSyLBaKUhRyhGazQV0VrXtUV5s70SqEYIUcZRBFhn_JDzUxL9tkczIpRB_5c-q_2QQ6nERs77j_vBbO2WD4A06hVEsk43OxA/s400/IMG_0752.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVL1UHQlUC4Lx-wxOxNn3i30d0FMIhPkthxHvi2EhUAuV4Gq93lVCopf8gpX5FbabFdL-rb5HoWklQWpF6hAVT28Opqikyh8NUWmicfgCQjMhgdi2GAkoYeclsB3pPJXszLfZ7hQ/s1600/IMG_0740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVL1UHQlUC4Lx-wxOxNn3i30d0FMIhPkthxHvi2EhUAuV4Gq93lVCopf8gpX5FbabFdL-rb5HoWklQWpF6hAVT28Opqikyh8NUWmicfgCQjMhgdi2GAkoYeclsB3pPJXszLfZ7hQ/s400/IMG_0740.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-55212441599261584382010-09-06T21:03:00.000-05:002010-09-06T21:03:52.110-05:00Labor Day - Literally<div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>things bought</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>and the money spent</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>are they really heaven sent?</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>things of this world</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>they do not last</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>so why your lot in</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>do you cast?</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>can money and things</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>buy you happiness you think?</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>can it love for you bring?</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>or can it bring you to the brink?</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>i believe still today</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>that it won't bring happiness your way</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>nothing in this world will buy</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>what you really need inside</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>so follow your mind</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>and you will find</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>that if you're smart</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>you'll follow your heart.</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>~Scott Kinney</i></b></span></div><br />
So I'm just saying that I have decided to become a minimalist. All I really need is my bed. That is all. The rest of this stuff has got to go!<br />
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That is because over the last month and a half I have sorted through every single thing I own. I'm serious. Since my garage sale in July, I have been in the process of preparing to move, sorting through my things, organizing, arranging, packing, and giving lots away. <br />
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I decided to treat this move differently than those in the past where in my old home I just threw everything in a box and in my new home put it all in a drawer or cabinet or on a shelf without giving it much thought. I decided this time that because I'm actually combining my stuff with another person's stuff til death do us part (counseling anyone? I'll drive!), I would go through each and every thing I own to decide if it is something that I really need in my life.<br />
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What a time consuming, painful, horrible, liberating, wonderful, terrible process this has been. Oh, the decisions! Oh, the endless collection of stuff that has amassed over a lifetime!<br />
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But today? I FINISHED. I can honestly say that I have touched and /or seen every single item I own whether it was in the back of a junk drawer, in the corner of a closet, or hidden deep inside a box in my garage that hasn't been opened in 20 years. <br />
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And I was pretty ruthless, too. I really purged a lot of stuff and that feels good. I like knowing what I have, where it is, and how I'll be able to incorporate my things into the things owned by my better half. (Yikes!)<br />
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So right now I am dirty, sore, and pretty exhausted, but I'm ready for the movers to come, take my stuff and drive off to Mexico with it so I'll NEVER HAVE TO UNPACK IT AGAIN!<br />
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Because seriously, all I need is my bed. And apparently my fridge...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl69aEKp8b8htD5qznkc55vmT2y9MuPFj3wQxPiCyaCf-E7ouGy_nxYibjA5y3322yo2GxWIjZbeifD8SClTX-v2_ccqeMTR5gGbvcPbdIJIpC4maZlLHOLjdbhBdo1E4GpJcrLA/s1600/100_1566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl69aEKp8b8htD5qznkc55vmT2y9MuPFj3wQxPiCyaCf-E7ouGy_nxYibjA5y3322yo2GxWIjZbeifD8SClTX-v2_ccqeMTR5gGbvcPbdIJIpC4maZlLHOLjdbhBdo1E4GpJcrLA/s400/100_1566.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-70372536523514003152010-09-04T22:25:00.000-05:002010-09-04T22:25:48.234-05:00Girls Night OutMom was nice enough to come to Oklahoma City today to help me get ready for the movers to come on Wednesday. She also gave me her dining room chairs with is about a million kinds of awesome!<br />
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For dinner she wanted me to choose since this is my LAST WEEKEND IN OKC. That is so weird I can hardly believe it! So I chose the legendary Cattleman's Steakhouse in the Stockyards of Oklahoma City. Steak. Seriously...is there anything better? Yum.<br />
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But there was a 45 minute wait! Mom and I waited upstairs and chatted it up with a very nice woman from Montana who went to college in Colorado. Guess what? I grew up in Montana and went to college in Colorado! Needless to say we had a had a lot to talk about.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrowVXGabyZYaJEHWvvyNynk6Se4j0m-v8q4ZkLVTv-QlrTK3XLL6yHGnfOnW9s5jiH2nW_4b-mGEvOpIs5Ndgv2rVgcvgT3LTGdSJRXdv6hCSFx456QdHlWpJDF3LFUGQ3q8hog/s1600/100_1569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrowVXGabyZYaJEHWvvyNynk6Se4j0m-v8q4ZkLVTv-QlrTK3XLL6yHGnfOnW9s5jiH2nW_4b-mGEvOpIs5Ndgv2rVgcvgT3LTGdSJRXdv6hCSFx456QdHlWpJDF3LFUGQ3q8hog/s400/100_1569.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4LpGcd_g9hxaSIAZ-DnnNgOjouxHn4BkuUlDvmOwUB_QYStYlczmMlyFjz11fKUCiWp81W8Prl2zs8DyjKo0zTz4CGLvhauu4yU487nTEjJhjoAB49VDrr1sUFTusujM6vzCEw/s1600/100_1571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4LpGcd_g9hxaSIAZ-DnnNgOjouxHn4BkuUlDvmOwUB_QYStYlczmMlyFjz11fKUCiWp81W8Prl2zs8DyjKo0zTz4CGLvhauu4yU487nTEjJhjoAB49VDrr1sUFTusujM6vzCEw/s400/100_1571.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nHTckmOyuW8ddivVqWeqy_KNOH6qSVMDYSkNMQzQwikXyu6jTDu12K_oBMaMCgYhpi_UHtKOQM8Zrjh7czHnErtONnoZ-PJLYOSktoXKa8JOjKREysDUmKAyvdFsM8ORHA-FBA/s1600/100_1572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nHTckmOyuW8ddivVqWeqy_KNOH6qSVMDYSkNMQzQwikXyu6jTDu12K_oBMaMCgYhpi_UHtKOQM8Zrjh7czHnErtONnoZ-PJLYOSktoXKa8JOjKREysDUmKAyvdFsM8ORHA-FBA/s400/100_1572.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1NJ5IGxEOBuG8ly77jY63keOPK7sRW_KXoXGCiSSpqK-7jQR3TYADj97ytAGVQdYEcOQm2iUrr9h_qSixUnM1iXOgv2EJDrEnSIOtM-xc9tRp1xr-Mt40XXMGFdSuGhlkGU0nQ/s1600/100_1573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1NJ5IGxEOBuG8ly77jY63keOPK7sRW_KXoXGCiSSpqK-7jQR3TYADj97ytAGVQdYEcOQm2iUrr9h_qSixUnM1iXOgv2EJDrEnSIOtM-xc9tRp1xr-Mt40XXMGFdSuGhlkGU0nQ/s400/100_1573.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And the best thing? After waiting almost an hour...WE ATE! We ate wonderful food and by wonderful food I mean STEAKS!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZ1SVTaW9x8Xkv4Bqd8i1j02lDKoUkM1dVbMqF2lnxumYEyE73ZEGs-kMukI0QK07okSTqIK-H57_uEHDUdSFtpRuqcDNVQPApzyMrHz-LLhFjT0mTxJ33f6jXGcim01LswSb3w/s1600/100_1577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZ1SVTaW9x8Xkv4Bqd8i1j02lDKoUkM1dVbMqF2lnxumYEyE73ZEGs-kMukI0QK07okSTqIK-H57_uEHDUdSFtpRuqcDNVQPApzyMrHz-LLhFjT0mTxJ33f6jXGcim01LswSb3w/s400/100_1577.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVevRjfPXvmJLzS7rnBTudbCBIfnC_wf51LPbYOgnatXE3089FQN8MK4cG1DCsYaMlXCbYOPU2bCdShOS1nuEdUmsYPVE6oDK5n0vE6vPfI0qbQF10GeQOFKCKaYVWEBVN9Z9SA/s1600/100_1578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVevRjfPXvmJLzS7rnBTudbCBIfnC_wf51LPbYOgnatXE3089FQN8MK4cG1DCsYaMlXCbYOPU2bCdShOS1nuEdUmsYPVE6oDK5n0vE6vPfI0qbQF10GeQOFKCKaYVWEBVN9Z9SA/s400/100_1578.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
In between good conversation we had musical entertainment. This guy on the harmonica was pretty good! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg235wPJT1mXe7WI9-xHhbX045GZyYxB5VMxmPADvekXyNVREvDn7jueLE7TlWkqd-6GBBKuQlP3t_4k83cTKQXIownVwsyTm-Q0El1OjCaYCuo5_wNYOZr-mfc6Z9NHLWtRZUrQA/s1600/100_1580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg235wPJT1mXe7WI9-xHhbX045GZyYxB5VMxmPADvekXyNVREvDn7jueLE7TlWkqd-6GBBKuQlP3t_4k83cTKQXIownVwsyTm-Q0El1OjCaYCuo5_wNYOZr-mfc6Z9NHLWtRZUrQA/s400/100_1580.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Over the last six years I've always had such a good time when Mom has come to OKC. It's a little bit bittersweet that this is her last visit here to see me! I had a great time. <br />
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And if you're ever in Oklahoma City, eat in the Stockyards at Cattleman's! You'll love it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgft0-QFWnzpnSGPccds0Z1_Ec868_IyQFM5nLI8m7icqYMIj2z5XBPtRs8ALKuSMxkYzGM-rQzTv_hdrGWc_S29A1rZdCqfdCI9RRiw8IQh1SwSMgVDl6r2u8JBI3o06_N1WIWzQ/s1600/100_1582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgft0-QFWnzpnSGPccds0Z1_Ec868_IyQFM5nLI8m7icqYMIj2z5XBPtRs8ALKuSMxkYzGM-rQzTv_hdrGWc_S29A1rZdCqfdCI9RRiw8IQh1SwSMgVDl6r2u8JBI3o06_N1WIWzQ/s400/100_1582.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3rjgfixlZYrX3LZX_fMDIHMzxy_W-YXNfITPBktvuRSw-QV_3P0hVPQ_8EBs48DyDzvBH-ld7P0dFVUtQGG3qdjFSbkvdNAKkpklgE7ehWvPDAitgGaxyZHjElNLrIGu1hD5dQ/s1600/100_1583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3rjgfixlZYrX3LZX_fMDIHMzxy_W-YXNfITPBktvuRSw-QV_3P0hVPQ_8EBs48DyDzvBH-ld7P0dFVUtQGG3qdjFSbkvdNAKkpklgE7ehWvPDAitgGaxyZHjElNLrIGu1hD5dQ/s400/100_1583.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-91814104183091383602010-08-31T23:27:00.004-05:002010-09-01T16:28:51.409-05:00100 Things To Do In OklahomaSaying goodbye to Oklahoma is really hard! As my last day here approaches I can't help but reflect on what a great experience I have had here.<br />
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The other day I went to lunch with some friends and mentioned that my time here was running out and there were still so many Oklahoma things I wanted to do. Next thing you know, my awesome friend Jenelle gave me the coolest gift...a set of beautiful cards "100 Things To Do In Oklahoma".<br />
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I love them and want to show some of them to you because these are Oklahoma things you should do!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6-etTyhjnmruPygRaSz9GJ_1iV_XYg-gEG01-nJg_ia-WqLVjulqub4B88VqPydOJbWXAAQ97B_3JQppvYxUdSq2BvmkAWRWpOTg_owBoZ53b_zILFNk2Leq1KnoMFCXJZW14w/s1600/100_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6-etTyhjnmruPygRaSz9GJ_1iV_XYg-gEG01-nJg_ia-WqLVjulqub4B88VqPydOJbWXAAQ97B_3JQppvYxUdSq2BvmkAWRWpOTg_owBoZ53b_zILFNk2Leq1KnoMFCXJZW14w/s400/100_1534.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I was pleased at how many of the things I had actually been able to do in the last almost six years.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMZX0aQhP_JuUuBd1SqHFSycmsiwsdsj0X2wzswyif4Nmz-FHCwfLwhy75JT3iRlSK6ii-AdaBLIr9FnESyHCSgWgE0Ii85Q3LNaqGP7gBiXiCfAM2o7u7ky6ujoTBtynHQXEYg/s1600/100_1542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMZX0aQhP_JuUuBd1SqHFSycmsiwsdsj0X2wzswyif4Nmz-FHCwfLwhy75JT3iRlSK6ii-AdaBLIr9FnESyHCSgWgE0Ii85Q3LNaqGP7gBiXiCfAM2o7u7ky6ujoTBtynHQXEYg/s400/100_1542.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Here are a few highlights.<br />
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Oklahoma has some truly amazing, world-class museums and I am hard-pressed to pick a favorite. The Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Sam Noble Museum of Natural History, Fred Jones Museum, Philbrook Museum of Art, Gilcrease Museum, National Cowboy & Heritage Museum, Jazz Hall of Fame, Science Museum Oklahoma, Jasmine Moran Children's Museum...all house amazing art, culture, artifacts, and history.<br />
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I have a soft spot for the Gene Autry Museum in Gene Autry, Oklahoma. Dad and I spent a great day there enjoying The Riders in the Sky. It's a special memory I will always treasure.<br />
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Oklahoma has so many natural offerings. Two of my favorites are the Quartz Mountain Lake and Resort near Altus and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge not too far from Lawton. Really impressive buffalo and longhorn cattle herds, a vineyard, the infamous Meers restaurant and beautiful scenery.<br />
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Gotta give a shout out to the zoos - I like both the Oklahoma City and the Tulsa Zoos.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I really like Tulsa. It has such a different feel from Oklahoma City. A bit more cosmopolitan, I guess. Some of my favorite Tulsa sites to see are the Blue Dome District with great entertainment options (love, love, love live-music venue Cain's Ballroom) and the amazing art deco architecture seen throughout the city. But because Oklahoma City will always be nearest and dearest to my heart I've included in this pic two fun things you should do when here...have dinner at the legendary Cattleman's Steakhouse in the Stockyards and then make your way to Bricktown for some downtown fun.<br />
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I'm not a gambler and that is too bad because Oklahoma is thick with casinos. But they just aren't my thing. With that said, I have had a few outings to Riverwind Casino and had a blast. Okay, I mainly had a blast because I was with my Nigerian friend Gbadabo Shola (aka "Sam") Adoeye and he was the hit of the casino. Talk about one of my favorite Oklahoma attractions....meeting Sam was an amazing experience. <a href="http://dotopotamus.blogspot.com/2006/09/from-land-of-vita-malt-ginger-drink.html">I've written about him here before</a> (but fair warning...that post was from the early days of the Dotopotamus when I used to write rambling novel length posts that went on FOREVER and this one involves not only Sam but a dating experience gone horribly wrong!)<br />
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You know my love of small towns. Oklahoma's got a lot of 'em! A couple of my favorite small town stops were Guthrie (lots of Oklahoma early statehood history and good antique stores) and Pauls Valley where I did stop at the Toy and Action Figure Museum one time on my way back from Texas. That place was so funny and so weird that it was a little bit trippy!<br />
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And roadside attractions? You gotta love them. I really enjoyed seeing the many retro sights along Route 66 including the Blue Whale in Catoosa and Pops in Arcadia. Dad and I spent some time picking out Frosty Rootbeer and Grape Nehis!<br />
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And if you can, you really need to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum honoring those who were killed in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. It is a moving experience.<br />
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Of course there are so many things I regret not doing when I had the time. Almost all of the things I wish I had done are visiting different parks and lakes. I'd like to see Beaver Bend State Park, Talimena National Scenic Byway, Robbers Cave State Park, Tallgrass Prairie, Grand Lake of the Cherokees and Turner Falls. Please go visit these places and send me some pictures!<br />
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I have to say that I agreed that these 100 Things To Do In Oklahoma were great suggestions. Okay, actually I thought 99 of them were great suggestions. I hate to say it, but I'd have to be pretty desperate for a day trip before driving the American Wind Power Trail would sound like a good idea!<br />
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Thanks again for the cards, Jenelle. They provide great memories of the good times I've had in Oklahoma and a to do list for when we come back to visit!Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-60268905025869177562010-08-28T19:22:00.000-05:002010-08-28T19:22:36.883-05:00Go Boomers!Randy's high school reunion in Toledo, Oregon was a fun weekend. The best part was the alumni football game! Go Boomers!<br />
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The old guys (at least 10 years since graduation) versus the young guys (graduated in the last 10 years).<br />
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Randy was ready. Ankles taped? Check. Shoestring found to lace up the football pants? Check. Helmet big enough to protect the perfect bald head? Check. <br />
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Randy's mom was brilliant because she thought to bring blankets. When I left Oklahoma City two days before it was 103 degrees so suffice it to say I wouldn't have thought to bring blankets to the game. But let me just say that I was fully covered by said blankets by the end! <br />
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Friends arrived. Beautiful Pamela and Barb and awesome (and beautiful!) Mike. These guys all go way back.<br />
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Warm ups and general bantering (smack talking?) got underway.<br />
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And then we were ready for some football! <br />
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But DANG I didn't get one single picture of the game! <br />
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That's because with the introductions I became the videographer and I got everything captured on video. Because I didn't want to miss a single play, run, pass, tackle, trick, or touchdown I kept the video camera going the whole time and didn't get any still pics to post. Randy has possession of the tape so I can't even offer up a clip. So just imagine a lot of action...there were good plays and bad plays and passes and receptions and interceptions and touchdowns. <br />
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And in the end? The Golden Oldie Boomers won! 18-8! Go old guys! That is pretty awesome. And Randy did a great job.<br />
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After the game the celebration began and the three bars in Toledo were packed with alumni having fun tripping down memory lane. <br />
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Here's a little Toledo school days memory for you. <br />
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I learned that the middle school that these guys attended burned down. Like to the ground! During a school day! Randy was in music class when it happened. The fire started in the boiler room and actually burned through the ceiling of that room and burst through the stage that was in the gym (?)/cafeteria (?). And there were classes in there eating lunch. Can you imagine? You're sitting there eating you pb&j and all of the sudden flames burst out and right in front of you! Apparently the old school was a tinder box and it started burning like crazy really quickly, but luckily everyone got out, however there were some burns and injuries on some adults who stayed behind making sure all the kids were out. That is wild. I remember having so many fire drills during school but never did I ever think I would actually experience a real fire. Well these guys did! <br />
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So it was good to learn a little bit more about Randy and his life growing up. And it was fun getting to watch him play football. He's come a long way since his number 35 (basketball!) days here... <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFHeq-bo6Cyw9Hs0tL-qPaIasHNM34Ke8XxHgIGX0XkKZRWfj9ItnpWBqXnIkIxDbXFaZKJjqG6PwECGehbH6XEVhnv1O6iLhYuI0NRUQoSdVGpdWbnZQ7rCcD3pQD2bWvDBs9g/s1600/100_1429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFHeq-bo6Cyw9Hs0tL-qPaIasHNM34Ke8XxHgIGX0XkKZRWfj9ItnpWBqXnIkIxDbXFaZKJjqG6PwECGehbH6XEVhnv1O6iLhYuI0NRUQoSdVGpdWbnZQ7rCcD3pQD2bWvDBs9g/s320/100_1429.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jajzir9GXnQZo9Fbx8CW5xXT1r_cJD6OxIZh4k2CB3gX-InzYA66JGxyGutuq3t6y-WI7dDFQ7oq_APjTCF9nvrpLhzxopXiVBtOjeXvoI6VIsbIrrStaGrdgfMW-tcxu42Raw/s1600/100_1431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jajzir9GXnQZo9Fbx8CW5xXT1r_cJD6OxIZh4k2CB3gX-InzYA66JGxyGutuq3t6y-WI7dDFQ7oq_APjTCF9nvrpLhzxopXiVBtOjeXvoI6VIsbIrrStaGrdgfMW-tcxu42Raw/s320/100_1431.JPG" /></a></div>Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26063443.post-46631064197007735972010-08-26T22:55:00.000-05:002010-08-26T22:55:36.433-05:00Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of RumLast weekend Randy and I went to his all-school high school reunion in Toledo, Oregon. Toledo was hopping with activity, including the annual Wooden Boat Show held in the little port area of town.<br />
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I've always lived in land-locked places, so the whole coastal, sea, ocean, fishing, boating, shrimping, crabbing, thing is new to me. It's going to be fun getting to know that whole culture. <br />
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First stop, the Wooden Boat Show in Toledo, Oregon.<br />
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There was a lot going on.<br />
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The potato canon was a big draw. You aimed for the signs in the water, or that red jacket wearing pirate in that little dingy. Randy came the closest to hitting the target...missed it by that much! The red jacket wearing pirate in the little dingy shot potatoes back at you, so you had to keep your head up or you would get nailed by a flying spud.<br />
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There were different boat races throughout the day. You can see some of the boats warming up behind me.<br />
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There were wooden boats of all kinds on display along the various docks along the slough.<br />
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I liked the Wahoo. Good name.<br />
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Although the Wahoo was a little rough in places...<br />
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There were cute, funky little wooden boats.<br />
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And there were pirate boats!<br />
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Back up on land - the boardwalk area above the docks - there was a cute street fair going on. Lots of beautifully handcrafted wooden boats were on display. The amount of time and elbow grease these took to make is impressive.<br />
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You could make your own wooden boat<br />
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Little kids could make their own wooden boats, too.<br />
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There were many booths with cool things on display. Things like...<br />
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Fish art...<br />
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T-shirts...<br />
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Cute things for your dog. And there were dozens of dogs milling about...<br />
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Funky, handmade hats. You can't really see my new funky, handmade hat, but trust me, it's cute!<br />
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There were stringed instruments and people who knew how to play lilty Irish fiddle tunes...<br />
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There were antiques for sale, and you could buy your very own vintage Roman gladiator...because everyone needs one! We plan on putting this one in our garden.<br />
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There was a silent auction and Randy couldn't resist bidding on things. He was the high bidder on the big reel in the picture. He said he was getting it for me...because I need a reel for all of the deep sea fishing I'm going to do. (Now where on the keybaord is that face icon with the rolling eyes?).<br />
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I really liked the band because I'm always drawn to the live music! These guys were good. Come on, chances are that any band with an accordion player is going to be good.<br />
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And the best news? Randy and I were crowned King and Queen of the Wooden Boat Show! Okay, maybe not. Because these guys totally had us beat...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixo-jupJNZ9UTxLY6Qvc7qjUwre-m5moGATwhkJjm2RZNJ9VVfN4IyQyHsndrhyphenhypheneH-Rx_SHxoRMMOLe1Lgqs8LHDX5jzQwyTlJYKcgJF9y2Hwum9s_uVxBayvkkEMFP21dC1YahQ/s1600/100_1403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixo-jupJNZ9UTxLY6Qvc7qjUwre-m5moGATwhkJjm2RZNJ9VVfN4IyQyHsndrhyphenhypheneH-Rx_SHxoRMMOLe1Lgqs8LHDX5jzQwyTlJYKcgJF9y2Hwum9s_uVxBayvkkEMFP21dC1YahQ/s320/100_1403.JPG" /></a></div><br />
But there is always next year!Lori Holliday Culverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435503478950909063noreply@blogger.com1